The American Civil Liberties Union filed a response today to Forsyth County's appeal of a court ruling that banned sectarian prayer at the start of county government meetings, arguing that the ruling should be upheld.
In the brief, the ACLU argued that prayers delivered by clergy invited to government meetings count as government-sponsored speech, that sectarian prayer, such as prayers that mention Jesus Christ, is unconstitutional because it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and that the county repeatedly demonstrated a preference for Christianity through its choice of prayers at meetings.
The county had argued in its appeal, filed in May, that sectarian prayer at meetings was private speech and that there was not enough legal precedent to say that all sectarian references were unconstitutional.
"The District Court held that the Board's invocations policy and practice unconstitutionally advance Christianity," wrote ACLU attorney Katherine Parker in the brief.
"The Board now asks this Court to reverse that decision, despite the clear teachings of the Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit on that issue…. This Court should reject that effort, follow its prior decisions, and affirm the District Court's decision."
The brief also requests an opportunity for oral arguments by Janet Joyner and Constance Lynn Blackmon, two of the three residents who sued the county over sectarian prayer in 2007.
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