Timeline of events in Forsyth County prayer case

Oct. 12, 2006: Attorney Katherine Parker of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina writes a letter to the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners recommending that the county pass a policy forbidding “sectarian invocations.” Parker tells commissioners that the ACLU has been informed that the board frequently begins meetings with “prayers invoking the name of Jesus Christ.”


Feb. 2, 2007: Ayesha Khan, attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, asks the board to stop all prayers before meetings because some people have no faith or do not belong to a Judeo-Christian faith. At very least, Khan says, the county should have a nonsectarian prayer policy.


Mar 29, 2007: Janet Joyner, Constance Lynn Blackmon and Osborne Mauck file a federal lawsuit in the Middle District of North Carolina to stop sectarian prayers at board meetings. They are represented by attorneys for the ACLU and Americans United.


April 12, 2007: On a vote that splits the county board 4-3 on party lines, the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners accepts an offer from the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian group, to defend the county for free. In support of the ADF defense are Republican commissioners Debra Conrad, Richard Linville, Gloria Whisenhunt and Bill Whiteheart. In opposition are Democrats Beaufort Bailey, Ted Kaplan and Walter Marshall.


May 14, 2007: Another 4-3 vote – same players – puts into place an ADF-inspired policy on opening invocations that replaces the informal method of selecting clergy that commissioners had previously used. The new policy picks clergy on a first-come, first-served basis and asks them to avoid using prayers to convert people or to criticize other faiths. The policy forbids the county from reviewing or otherwise being involved in the content of the prayers.


Jan. 26, 2008: Joyner and Blackmon amend their suit to take into account the county’s prayer policy, which they say continues to put the county in a position of preferring Christianity over other religions.


May 6, 2008: In the GOP primary for nominations to three District B seats, Dave Plyler, a moderate Republican, beats the more conservative Whiteheart for the last seat. This sets into motion a drawn-out drama over whether Plyler will side with Democrats to drop the challenge to the prayer suit, or stick with the other Republicans. In November, the three Republicans (Linville, Whisenhunt and Plyler) easily fend off three Democratic challengers.


Dec. 18, 2008: Shortly after Plyler takes office, the ACLU offers to settle the suit if the county will pay $60,000 in legal fees and agrees to ban sectarian prayer. Plyler sides with the board’s other Republican to keep the suit alive, at least until the district court judge hears oral arguments.


March 3, 2009: A local group, the North Carolina Partnership for Religious Liberty, with the Rev. Steve Corts as chairman, enters into an agreement with the county to provide money for the ACLU’s legal fees in the event the county eventually loses the case. The group raises $55,000 for this initial effort.


Oct. 14, 2009: After a long wait, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Trevor Sharp hears oral arguments between the county and the plaintiffs. Sharp goes on Nov. 9 to recommend that the chief district court judge rule against the county based on precedent established by prior cases in the 4th Circuit, which includes North Carolina.


Jan. 29, 2010: Chief District Court Judge James A. Beaty rules against Forsyth County and issues an injunction that stops the county’s prayer practice.


Feb. 22, 2010: With Plyler the key swing vote, commissioners vote 4-3 to appeal the district court ruling to the 4th Circuit. The vote comes after the board hears impassioned pleas from both sides in the audience.


May 12, 2011: The 4th Circuit court hears oral arguments in the county’s appeal of the district court ruling.


July 29, 2011: In a 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules against the county. The majority of judges find that to be constitutional, prayers must be “the type of nonsectarian prayers … that seek to unite rather than to divide.”


Aug. 8, 2011: Commissioners vote 6-1 to appeal the prayer case to the Supreme Court. This time around, Marshall is the only dissenter on the board, with five Republicans and one Democrat voting to appeal.


Jan. 17, 2012: U.S. Supreme Court rejects the Forsyth County prayer appeal.