A judge's ruling on public prayer in Forsyth County will likely affect how other area governments handle prayer before government meetings.
A federal district court magistrate judge has recommended that the federal court for the Middle District of North Carolina bar Forsyth County from allowing prayers with sectarian content before meetings of the board of county commissioners.
Chief District Court Judge James A. Beaty Jr. is expected to make a ruling on the case in December, after both sides have had a chance to file additional briefs relating to the magistrate's recommendation.
"We are obviously watching closely the lawsuit with the county," Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said. "Once that reaches a final resolution we will take appropriate action. I don't know if the county will appeal the ruling or not so we will wait and see on that."
The county has a policy that allows clergy from any religious group to volunteer to give the invocation. While the prayer-givers are asked to be respectful of other faiths, the board doesn't otherwise monitor the content of the prayers.
Citizens who objected to references to Jesus Christ in prayers before board meetings filed suit against the county in March 2007. Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, plaintiffs Janet Joyner and Constance Blackmon are asking the court to issue an injunction stopping the county from allowing any kind of sectarian prayer.
Several attorneys with experience in federal court said that it is typical for a chief judge to accept the recommendation of a magistrate judge, but that it doesn't always happen. The judge could reject the recommendation, but could also modify it or send it back for more work.
In Winston-Salem, the city invites prayer-givers instead of asking clergy to volunteer. Joines said that method allows the city to make sure different faiths are represented at meetings. But the city also leaves it up to the prayer giver to choose the words of the prayer.
Forsyth County wasn't the only local government that faced objections to sectarian prayer in 2007.
Yadkin County commissioners agreed in March 2007 to drop sectarian references from pre-meeting prayers, which are given by James Graham, the county attorney. The ACLU had asked the county to drop sectarian prayers.
"I'm glad we are doing what we are doing," said Chad Wagoner, the chairman of the Yadkin County Board of Commissioners. "We have a nonsectarian prayer. We don't pray in Jesus' name. I hate to use the word generic, but our intent was to preserve the sanctity of prayer and be inclusive and respectful of all deities."
If Forsyth County were to prevail in the lawsuit, Wagoner said, he's sure that the issue would come up again in Yadkin. Yadkin officials determined that fighting the ACLU was "too expensive," Wagoner said.
Thomasville had a different response in 2007. The city council voted 6-1 to approve a policy allowing sectarian prayer. In Thomasville, council members take turns giving the prayer and sometimes make sectarian references, town officials said. As in Forsyth, the prayer in Thomasville is considered to be something that happens before the start of the meeting.
However, Magistrate Judge Trevor Sharp specifically rejected that approach in his recommendation to bar Forsyth County from allowing sectarian prayers. Sharp said that the tactic of having prayers take place before the official start of a meeting "elevates form over substance."
Clemmons Mayor John Bost said that the village council also removed prayer from the agenda in response to the ACLU challenge, and replaced it with a three-minute public comment time in which anyone could say anything, including a prayer. While formerly there were some people who used the time to pray, Bost said that interest seems to have dropped off.
"No one prays before meetings, not in the last six months," Bost said.
wyoung@wsjournal.com
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