Legal Experts Hail Indian River School Board's Religious Freedom Victory
by Bill Fancher and Jenni Parker
August 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - An attorney with the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy says he is encouraged by a judge's recent ruling that school board members in one Delaware city can legally open their meetings with prayer. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Indian River School District Board of Education, claiming the board's pre-meeting prayers violated the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Farnan dismissed the lawsuit, however, ruling that such prayers are in fact constitutional. AFA Law Center attorney Steve Crampton feels the decision is in line with U.S. Supreme Court rulings. He says he is encouraged to hope that "we have kind of turned a corner in this country, and perhaps the reconstitution of our Supreme Court will also give rise to our side taking these cases all the way up and, hopefully, restoring some sanity to our First Amendment jurisprudence."
Crampton emphasizes the importance of government entities and their individual members defending their constitutional rights against the ACLU's attacks. "We would encourage municipalities all over America," he says, "to be smart about how you do it, but do not just give in to the intimidation tactics of the ACLU."
The pro-family attorney points out that prayers like those the Indian River school board members engaged in "are and ought to be upheld as constitutional." When similar attacks against religious freedom and free speech occur, the AFA Law Center attorney says his organization "would encourage communities to contact us or some of the other pro bono Christian legal groups if they need help in combating them in court."
Rutherford Institute Helps Indian River Schools Prevail in ACLU Lawsuit
It was another such pro-family legal organization, The Rutherford Institute, that came to the aid of Indian River school board member Reginald Helms in August 2004 after the Wilmington, Delaware, branch of the ACLU demanded that the district discontinue offering prayers at graduation ceremonies and other school events as well as at the district's board meetings. Despite pressure from the civil liberties group, the school board continued to open its business meetings with brief prayer.
The board also adopted a policy stating that it would continue to "solemnify School Board proceedings" by opening meetings with voluntary sectarian or non-sectarian prayer or a moment of silence "all in accord with the freedom of conscience of the individual Board member." The ACLU went on to file suit against individual members of the Indian River School District Board of Education in their personal and professional capacities, alleging that school-sponsored prayer had "pervaded the life of teachers and students" in the district.
Rutherford Institute attorneys representing Helms argued that the prayers intended to solemnize the school board's proceedings are part of the legislative process. Judge Farnan agreed and, in dismissing the case against the individual board members, declared that opening a session of the legislature or other deliberative public body with prayer is not a violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
He further declared that legislators at all levels of government, including school board members, have absolute immunity in such cases. The ACLU's lawsuit against the Indian River School District will continue, however. Meanwhile, Institute attorneys will seek to have the U.S. District Court declare the legality of the specific written policy that allows the Indian River District school board members to open their meetings with prayer.
Rutherford Institute founder and president John W. Whitehead describes Judge Farnan's decision upholding the constitutionality of the board's pre-meeting prayers as "a great victory for the free-speech rights of school board members." Whitehead says the ruling reinforces Supreme Court precedent stating that it is an acceptable practice under the U.S. Constitution for deliberative bodies to open their legislative sessions with prayer.
