TRI In The News
Pittsylvania Would Lose Possible ACLU Case
8/18/2011
TRI IN THE NEWS: PITTSYLVANIA WOULD LOSE POSSIBLE ACLU CASE
From The News & Advance
Original article available here.
The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors would lose if it went to court to fight for a sectarian Christian prayer during public meetings, said a leading constitutional attorney.
"They're not going to win their case," said John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute in Charlottesville.
Supervisors have said they are willing to battle it out in court with the American Civil Liberties Union to continue their practice of holding a Christian prayer during meetings.
"I would not waste taxpayers' money to fight it," Whitehead said.
The state ACLU sent a letter to the board Tuesday asking them to cease sectarian prayers during public meetings, or instead have a broad, inclusive prayer. The letter, written by ACLU Legal Director Rebecca K. Glenberg, said sectarian prayers led by a governing body with specific references to Jesus Christ violate the First Amendment "under the clear precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit."
The ACLU sent the letter after receiving an email from someone who attends board of supervisors meetings. Glenberg declined to reveal the person's identity.
The board stood its ground during its meeting Tuesday night, with Banister Supervisor William Pritchett leading members in a prayer mentioning Jesus Christ. The six remaining supervisors then took turns saying their own individual prayers, including several references to Jesus.
James Campbell, executive director of the Virginia Association of Counties in Richmond, was taken aback and called the board's Tuesday night move "an act of defiance" after being told about it by the Danville Register & Bee.
"We encourage our folks to at least respect the opinions of the Supreme Court," Campbell said Wednesday.
Danville City Council has a prayer rotation among its members, said Mayor Sherman Saunders. Saunders said he cannot recall whether Jesus' name has been used during prayers, he said.
"I would not be surprised nor offended if it was," Saunders said, adding that no one has complained to him about the city's prayers.
Upon hearing of the board's actions during the meeting, Glenberg said Wednesday, "It's very disappointing that the board of supervisors chose simply to ignore the law."
The ACLU's next step is under consideration, Glenberg said, declining to say what that would be.
"I don't want to go further than that," she said.
Whitehead, of the Rutherford Institute, said a court would find the board's practice of holding sectarian Christian prayers unconstitutional.
"They have a problem," Whitehead said of the county's situation.
He recommended that supervisors have a forum at meetings, where residents of all faiths — as well as atheists — can sign up and take turns praying or "solemnizing" the proceedings.
Whitehead represented Hashmel C. Turner Jr., in a 2008 case after the Fredericksburg City Council took Turner out of its meeting prayer rotation, in which Turner mentioned Jesus during prayers he held about every two months. The city had received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia on the matter.
Turner sued the city of Fredericksburg but lost his case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Glenberg cited the case in her letter to the board. The court ruled that "opening prayers at city council meetings are not expressions of individual religious belief; they are official governmental speech," Glenberg wrote.
America has changed since the days of the Founding Fathers, who would not have a problem with the board's practice of sectarian prayers, Whitehead said. Thomas Jefferson, who wasn't a Christian, was fascinated with Jesus and wrote a book about him. He translated the Bible from Greek and brought Christian ministers to speak to students at the University of Virginia, Whitehead said.
Times are different now, Whitehead said. Islam has emerged as the second-biggest faith in the U.S.
"The Constitution protects the minority, that's the point," Whitehead said.
The only way to promote freedom and equality is to provide a forum at the board's meetings, where everyone, Wiccans, New Agers and those from other religions can express their beliefs, Whitehead said.
"It's the rational thing to do, then you avoid disastrous court cases," he said.
The ACLU does good work, but they seek out cases like Pittsylvania's, Whitehead said.
"Jesus is a dirty word to the ACLU, unfortunately," he said.
Supervisors refuse to back down from sectarian public professions of their faith.
"They're asking me to not practice my faith as a Christian," said Callands-Gretna Supervisor Fred Ingram. "I have a real problem with that."
"I hope the board will stand up to this threat, because that's what it is," Ingram added.
Chatham-Blairs Supervisor Hank Davis agrees.
"We don't have to respond to their letter," Davis said. "We responded last night (Tuesday night) when all seven of us prayed."
"We don't have to do what the ACLU tells us to do," he added.
Davis is undeterred in the face of court precedent cited in the ACLU's letter.
"We haven't had a court tell us to do anything yet," he said.
An individual may pray any way they choose, but the rules are different for government officials during government proceedings, Whitehead said.
"Can you have free speech when you're a government official in a governmental room with a governmental office? Probably not," Whitehead said.
