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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that non-American Indian members of the Native American Church can use peyote in religious ceremonies.
In a unanimous decision, the court found in favor of James and Linda Mooney and their church, the Oklevueha Earthwalks Native American Church.
The Mooneys had been charged in October 2000 with drug distribution for providing peyote to members and visitors of their church. Officers confiscated about 12,000 peyote buttons from the six-acre complex that serves as home to the church.
The couple were charged with more than 10 first-degree felony counts of operating a controlled substance criminal enterprise and one second-degree count of racketeering. They were never tried, and Tuesday's ruling stems from a defense pretrial motion to dismiss the case.
Federal law allows tribal Indians and members of the Native American Church to use peyote in religious ceremonies. The Mooneys' church is affiliated with the Native American Church, though they are not members of a federally recognized tribe.
Attorneys for the state argued there's no exception in state law for the use of peyote by Indians, and said that even if the court ruled there was such an exception, it could not be extended to cover non-Indians.
The high court ruled that state law incorporates the federal regulation but doesn't specify a later restriction on peyote use only by members of federally recognized tribes. Use of the hallucinogenic drug is limited to bona fide religious ceremonies as part of the Native American Church, Justice Jill Parrish wrote.
Because the language in the Utah statute is ambiguous, the court said, "we interpret the Act in a manner that avoids a conflict with federal law and does not risk depriving the Mooneys of their constitutional rights to due process."
That essentially means the Mooneys had no notice that what they thought was their constitutional right to practice their religion might have been against state law.
The court also said that permitting the exemption for some church members and not others would violate the equal protection clause in the United States Constitution.
James Mooney was not available for comment because he was serving as an election worker for Utah's primary elections, but said in a statement released by his attorney that the decision "will help to preserve the religious diversity on which our nation and this state were founded and this is a very good thing."
The decision was a victory for the free exercise of religion, due process and equal protection under the law, Collard said.
Assistant Attorney General Kris Leonard said her office hadn't fully reviewed the opinion and she didn't know what action her office might take.
"Utah law is constantly changing," Leonard said. "My guess is that they will probably consider this in the next (legislative) session or maybe at some point in the future."
Mooney, who claims he is a descendant of American Indian tribes, founded the Oklevueha Earth Walks Native American Church in Benjamin, about 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, in 1997. Before that, the Mooneys practiced Native American religion and provided religious programs and services to Utah prison inmates.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
