Hollywood, FL - Judge Will Rule In Favor Of Synagogue

Hollywood, FL - The city may have to erase an entire section of its zoning laws after a federal judge in Miami said that she plans to rule on behalf of an Orthodox Jewish synagogue that claims the laws are unconstitutional and too vague.

U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard called attorneys representing the city and the Hollywood Community Synagogue to tell them she plans to rule in the synagogue's favor and will put it in writing within the next couple of weeks, lawyers on both sides said.

The zoning codes are at the heart of a pending discrimination lawsuit filed by the Hollywood Synagogue and the U.S. Department of Justice claiming city officials violated the religious group's constitutional rights by denying it an exception in 2003 to operate within a residential neighborhood.