Forsyth County filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn a lower court's ruling that banned prayers mentioning Jesus from the start of meetings of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners.
Attorneys with the Allied Defense Fund, which is representing the county, filed what is called a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court, asking the court to decide whether the Constitution requires the county to eliminate sectarian references from prayers, and rule on whether the frequent presentation of such prayers also violates the Constitution.
Citizens who objected to Christian prayers filed suit against the county in 2007, saying that the prayers amounted to a government endorsement of Christianity. The objecting plaintiffs were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of N.C. and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
The Allied Defense Fund took the case for the county, and the issue went to federal district court.
In January 2010, the federal court for the middle district of N.C. ruled against the county, which then appealed the decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.
The appeals court ruled 2-1 against the county on July 29 and found that the county was endorsing Christianity because most of the prayers given under the board's first-come, first-served policy were Christian prayers.
The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners voted 6-1 on Aug. 8 to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mike Johnson, an attorney working with the Allied Defense Fund who argued the case before the 4th Circuit, said the ACLU and Americans United were advocating "censorship."
"They don't want private citizens invited by the board to express themselves according to the dictates of their consciences," Johnson said.
Katherine Parker, the attorney for the ACLU who has argued the case for the plaintiffs, said the ADF is wrong to say that the case deserves Supreme Court review and wrong on the merits.
"As every other court that has reviewed this case has found, Forsyth County has taken a very public stance in favor of one particular religion — Christianity," Parker said. "We will continue to advocate for our clients, and all religious minorities in Forsyth County, who seek to have a government that stays neutral on matters of religion."
The Supreme Court receives thousands of petitions to hear cases each year, but only a small number are selected for review.
Johnson said he's hopeful the high court will hear the case, and added that he expects friend-of-the-court briefs to be filed by attorneys general of several surrounding states as well as one from members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus.
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