U.S. Supreme Court declines Forsyth County prayer appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday that it will not hear Forsyth County's appeal of lower-court decisions that stopped sectarian prayers at the opening of meetings of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners.

The Supreme Court's decision also prompted Winston-Salem officials to reconsider the city's policy on sectarian prayer before public meetings. The city has in the past invited spiritual leaders from different faiths to say a prayer before the start of Winston-Salem City Council meetings. Now meetings will open with a moment of silence, City Attorney Angela Carmon said. The council made the decision in a closed session Tuesday night, based on Carmon's advice.

The Supreme Court's decision disappointed those who were hoping it would hear the case and reverse the ban, and pleased others, who called the ruling a confirmation that the government should not endorse particular religious beliefs.

"It creates a chilling effect on religious speech in America," said the Rev. Steve Corts, chairman of the N.C. Partnership for Religious Liberty, which supported the county's appeal. The group has raised $300,000 to offset any legal bills the county will have to pay to the plaintiffs' attorneys.

"Even though I am disappointed, I can put my head on my pillow and say I did my best," Corts said, emphasizing that he has no regrets that his donor-backed group got involved.

The Rev. Barry Lynn, the executive director of the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which supported the citizens who sued the county, praised the Supreme Court's action.

"When government meetings are opened regularly with Christian prayer, it sends the unmistakable message that non-Christians are second-class citizens in their own community," Lynn said. "That's unconstitutional, and it's just plain wrong."

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 were Christian.

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."

The ACLU will be sending Forsyth County a bill for about $200,000 in legal fees, Parker said, once the court system approves the payment.

The county's defense was handled by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian organization. The organization offered legal services to the county for free, but the ADF said from the start that it would not pay any legal fees awarded to the plaintiffs if the county lost.

"We really were expecting that the court would want to take a look at the case," said Mike Johnson, the ADF attorney who handled Forsyth County's case.

Johnson had argued that the 4th Circuit ruling against Forsyth had created a conflict with an 11th Circuit ruling that had found no problem with sectarian references in prayers in Cobb County, Ga.

"I think that this leaves a very important constitutional-law issue essentially unresolved," Johnson said. "We believe that sometime soon, the Supreme Court will have to hear one of these cases to resolve the issue."

Corts, who called a news conference Tuesday to announce his group's response to the Supreme Court's decision, said that the court's refusal to hear the Forsyth County case penalizes the county for being largely Christian. He said his group favored letting people of each faith pray as they wanted.

Constance Blackmon and Janet Joyner, the two Forsyth County plaintiffs who sued the county in 2007, did not return telephone calls on Tuesday.

Reaction among members of the county board of commissioners varied. Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt, who was chairwoman of the board when the suit was filed, called it "a sad day for our nation."

Commissioner Walter Marshall, the lone commissioner to oppose appealing the case to the Supreme Court, said he doesn't feel vindicated because he never thought the suit had a chance.

The county has not had prayers since early 2010 because of a court injunction. Commissioners will have to decide whether to reinstate prayer — albeit nonsectarian ones.

Corts said he hopes that happens because "it is in the spirit of our people."

Whisenhunt said she believes that county commissioners should lead any nonsectarian prayers that are offered.

"I would never be in favor of inviting anyone from the clergy and then telling them how to pray," Whisenhunt said.