Court Upholds Judge's Right to Voice Beliefs on Homosexuality

by Allie Martin
July 7, 2004

(AgapePress) - An attorney with a Christian legal group that specializes in constitutional rights says a recent decision by the Mississippi Supreme Court affirming a public official's right to voice his beliefs is a major victory for free speech.

Last week the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that Justice Court Judge Connie Glen Wilkerson did not violate the Code of Judicial Conduct by writing a letter to the editor of his local newspaper in which he referred to homosexuality as a mental illness. Wilkerson also repeated his opinion in a radio interview with Mississippi Public Radio.

Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a pro-homosexual activist group, filed a complaint against the judge with the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance, alleging multiple ethical violations. After hearing the case, the Commission had recommended that Judge Wilkerson be disciplined for his comments.

However, on July 1 the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in a 5-2 decision that Wilkerson's speech was protected by the First Amendment. The court held that the Canon requiring that a judge avoid even the appearance of impropriety constituted a prior restraint on the judge's constitutional right to state his political and religious views in public.

Judge Wilkerson was represented by the Tupelo, Mississippi-based American Family Association Center for Law & Policy. The Center's chief counsel, Steve Crampton, says the state Supreme Court ruling sent a clear message, upholding by "an overwhelming majority" the judge's free-speech rights to "address an issue of some controversy -- in this case, homosexual rights. So we believe it is a precedent-setting case."

"The tolerance police will stop at nothing to silence all opposition to their radical new political orthodoxy," the attorney says. "We are pleased that the Mississippi Supreme Court saw through their hypocritical attempt to reach the Judge's private religious speech."

Crampton believes such cases will be increasingly common as supposedly "tolerant" homosexual activists try to silence the views of Christians on matters having to do with homosexual rights. "We need to aggressively maintain a vigilance over our public officials in order that they do have the right to speak out," he says, "and that we see to it that they do indeed take a stand on this most important issue."

The Center for Law & Policy is the legal arm of the American Family Association. The pro-family law firm specializes in constitutional litigation and religious freedom cases, and offers pro-bono advice and assistance to municipalities seeking to regulate local sexually-oriented businesses.