The Anti-Christian Litigation Union strikes again...


U.S. Supreme Court rejects Forsyth County prayer appeal

http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012.../bit.ly/AuTcDt

By: Wesley Young
Winston-Salem Journal
Published: January 17, 2012
Updated: January 17, 2012 - 12:23 PM


The U.S. Supreme Court this morning rejected Forsyth County's appeal of lower court rulings against the county's policy of allowing sectarian prayers at the opening of meetings of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners.

The court announced this morning that it had denied a hearing to the county, following a Friday conference in which the Forsyth County case came up for discussion.
I'm not surprised," said Forsyth County Commissioner Dave Plyler, who had supported the appeals while voicing skepticism about the county's chances. Plyler thinks the battle over prayer will continue elsewhere.

The Supreme Court let stand a 2-1 ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found that Forsyth County had endorsed Christianity with its prayer policy, although the policy was neutral on its face. The appeals court said that under the policy a large majority of the prayers referenced Christianity.

In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision, cities and counties all over the state will be getting letters from the American Civil Liberties Union warning them to stop allowing sectarian prayers.
"We are about to get very busy," said Katherine Parker, the ACLU attorney who argued the case against Forsyth County in the court system. "We have heard from 25 to 30 religious minority individuals in cities and counties all over North Carolina, and we are about to start contacting those (local government) attorneys. We are going to remind them that this is the law, and presume that they will follow the law."

Parker said the Supreme Court's decision not to hear Forsyth County's appeal "underscores that government can't take sides on religion, and that is what Forsyth County has been doing by endorsing one set of beliefs over another."
"Anybody who believes that the government ought to be neutral on matters of religion ought to be happy today," Parker said.
The ACLU will also be sending Forsyth County a bill for about $200,000 in legal fees, Parker said. A local group of prayer supporters had pledged $300,000 for the county's legal defense. Plyler said he's happy that the ending of the suit will not be costing the county money.
The county's defense was handled by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian organization that had offered legal services to the county for free, although the ADF said from the start that it would not pay any legal fees awarded to the plaintiffs in the county lost.
"I'm surprised and disappointed," said Mike Johnson, the ADF attorney who argued Forsyth County's case before the courts. "We really were expecting that the court would want to take a look at the case. I think that this leaves a very important constitutional law issue essentially unresolved. We believe that sometime soon, the Supreme Court will have to hear one of these cases to resolve the issue."

Johnson had argued that the 4th-Circuit ruling against Forsyth had created a conflict with an 11th-circuit ruling in Georgia that had found no problem with sectarian references. Even within the 4th Circuit, Johnson said, the court ruling has left officials asking "if there is a threshold number of sectarian references" that run afoul of the constitution.

The ADF stands by its belief that sectarian prayers are constitutional before government bodies, Johnson said, and will continue to offer legal services in similar cases.
Citizens who objected to prayers mentioning Jesus filed a federal lawsuit against Forsyth County in March 2007.
The county allowed prayers before board meetings on a first-come, first-served policy, but did not forbid prayer-givers from using sectarian references. The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, argued that the county was advancing Christianity in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

In January, 2010, Chief District Court Judge James A. Beaty ruled against Forsyth County. Although the county's prayer policy was neutral with regard to religion, the court said that under it an overwhelming number of prayers made Christian references.

On July 29 the appeals court ruled against the county in a 2-1 decision. That led to the county's final appeal, one to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court receives more than 10,000 applications for appeal each year, but normally hears only about 100 cases.
An Internet blog that follows the U.S. Supreme Court had recently listed the Forsyth County case as one that stood a "reasonable" chance of being taken up by the Supreme Court.

wyoung@wsjournal.com (336) 727-7369
Winston-Salem Journal ©2012 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company.
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ACLU to Ask More Gov't Boards to Change Prayer Policy

http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-aclu...,2288792.story

FOX8 Staff Writer 5:27 p.m. EST, January 17, 2012

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP)—

The ACLU said it will ask 25-30 other government boards to change their policies on prayer at meetings as a result of Tuesday's Supreme Court decision not to take up Forsyth County's appeal.

Katy Parker, legal director with the ACLU of North Carolina, said they will be sending letters to towns, counties and other boards across the state. She would would not specify which ones in an interview Tuesday.

Winston-Salem Mayor Alan Joines said City Council is expected to go into closed session Tuesday night to discuss its position on prayer at meetings. The ACLU contacted the city at the same time the Forsyth County Commission was, but the city wasn't sued.

In 2007, the ACLU sued the commission on behalf of two women who said prayers before meetings made it seem their government favored one religion over another. Three lower courts ruled in favor of the women.

The county appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which decided Tuesday not to take up the case.

"We are surprised by Supreme Court's ruling," said Rev. Steve Corts with Centergrove Baptist Church. Corts helped raise $300,000 so county commissioners could fight the lawsuit without using taxpayer money.

"The majority of us in Forsyth County are Christians. It burdens and saddens me that a person of faith is muzzled and censored by the government," Corts said.

"You can't have a situation where the majority gets to bully the minority by saying, 'There are more of us, and therefore your rights don't count,'" Parker said.

While the ruling doesn't completely prohibit prayer, several commissioners said they aren't sure if prayer will be brought back, since the prayers can't mention a specific deity.

David Cortman with the Alliance Defense Fund, which helped defend the county in the case, said a non-sectarian prayer is no prayer at all.

"This was open to anyone to pray according to their own beliefs. It didn't exclude any religion at all," Cortman said.

Attorneys representing the county said Tuesday's ruling puts government in a position to unfairly censor prayers by regulating what people say.

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