High School's 'Jesus Portrait' Case Winnable, Says Christian Attorney
by Jim Brown and Jody Brown
June 30, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A Christian legal group says it is optimistic a West Virginia high school will be successful defending its right to display a picture of Jesus Christ in a lawsuit brought by groups seeking to have it taken down.The Harrison County Board of Education is being sued by two liberal groups over a portrait of Christ in the main hallway of Bridgeport High School. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) claims the picture, called the "Head of Christ," is an unconstitutional government endorsement of Christianity. Associated Press reports that Americans United (AU) tried pressuring the school board to remove the painting, but a vote on the issue earlier this month ended in a tie.
AU's Barry Lynn says public schools must welcome children of all religious beliefs -- but contends that exhibiting this portrait excludes non-Christian students. "Display of a devotional portrait of Jesus sends the unmistakable message that Bridgeport High is endorsing Christianity," he says in a press release. "That leaves out students with other beliefs and violates the Constitution."
Adds an ACLU of West Virginia spokesman: "Bridgeport High School [by violating the Constitutional ban on government endorsement of religion] is interfering with the right of all students to freely express their religious beliefs." The portrait has hung in the school's hallway for more than 40 years.
Steve Crampton is chief counsel at the Center for Law & Policy (CLP), the legal arm of the American Family Association in Tupelo, Mississippi. The attorney notes that in 1994, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared the same portrait of Jesus unconstitutional, but concurred that it did not endorse a particular religion.
"The authority on which [the ACLU and Americans United] are banking almost their entire case is highly suspect as to its validity today," Crampton explains. "Moreover, as the recent Ten Commandments cases demonstrated, the U.S. Supreme Court pretty much has abandoned the 'lemon test' for this kind of challenge."
Consequently, he feels the West Virginia school district has a good argument. He adds that such a scenario might offer an opportunity to "perhaps make new law and establish some new standards in this area."
According to Crampton, the ACLU often targets smaller school districts that cannot handle costly legal fees. This case, he says, fits that pattern. "[T]hey build up their seemingly impressive string of victories -- and then when they take on a slightly bigger defendant, they can look like they're much more impressive than they really are," the attorney says. "So there is a little bit of the 'smoke and mirrors' at issue here."
The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday (June 28) on behalf of two Harrison County citizens. The lead plaintiff in the case is a U.S. Justice Department attorney whose children attended the school. The other is a Catholic woman who plans to serve as a substitute teacher in the district.
