Overview

• On June 23, the DOJ filed a motion to intervene in Etienne v. Ferguson in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, seeking to block SB 5375 before its July 27 effective date.
• Senate Bill 5375 requires Catholic clergy to report suspected child abuse or neglect revealed during confession, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine for noncompliance.
• The Justice Department argues the law violates the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause by singling out the confessional privilege.
• Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon condemned the statute as an unconstitutional targeting of religious practice, and Catholic leaders have pledged to defy the requirement to preserve the seal of confession.
• Governor Bob Ferguson has criticized the Church’s lawsuit for appearing to shield abusers, underscoring the broader tension between child protection measures and religious confidentiality.