School Board Being Sued Over Jesus Portrait Weighs Options
by Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
August 15, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A West Virginia school board, under legal pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, will vote today on whether to remove a portrait of Jesus Christ from the hallway of a local high school. The West Virginia ACLU and Americans United are suing the Harrison County Board of Education over a portrait of Christ displayed in the main hallway of Bridgeport High School. The board recently voted 3-2 to put off a decision on the portrait until today (August 14), and the board members have given outside groups that support the picture until today to raise $150,000 for a legal defense fund.
Steve Crampton is chief counsel at the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy, which has offered to represent the Harrison County Board of Education free of charge. He says the Board of Education voted some months ago not to remove the portrait, despite the demand of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The portrait in question has been in the school for more than 40 years, and Crampton points out that the plaintiffs in the suit have known about the picture's presence for the past 10 years. "So, it's not as if the litigation itself should have come as a surprise," he notes, "but it's a very unusual way to approach the issue."
The current controversy dates back to last March, when local resident Harold Sklar submitted a formal request at a meeting of the school board, asking that the portrait be removed. According to the ACLU of West Virginia, Sklar had made this request repeatedly in the past.
ACLU of West Virginia spokesman Andrew Schneider claims Bridgeport High School is violating the U.S. Constitution's ban on government endorsement of religion and "interfering with the right of all students to freely express their religious beliefs." He says the Supreme Court has ruled "unequivocally" in a 1943 case in his state that the Bill of Rights' purpose is to ensure that fundamental liberties are not subject to the whims of a majority.
The lawsuit against the school was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. According to the legal action brought by the ACLU and Americans United, their plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief, damages, and "reasonable" attorneys' fees.
The AFA Law Center's offer to represent the school board pro-bono was extended in the hope that the school would be encouraged to fight the plaintiffs' efforts to have the picture of Christ removed from display. According to Crampton, whenever liberal groups like the ACLU and Americans United succeed in a legal attack on religious expression, their attorneys usually recover substantial fees, which the losing defendant is forced to pay. However, he feels the West Virginia school district has a good argument and that the case may perhaps present an opportunity to "make new law and establish some new standards in this area."
Are Liberal Groups Cashing In on Anti-Religion Litigation?
Crampton believes the threat of paying out enormous legal fees frequently has a chilling effect on the exercise of schools and other institutions' First Amendment rights. All too often, he says, that threat creates a scenario in which "many governmental entities refuse even to go to court for fear they will then have to pay fees they can't afford to cover."
The AFA Law Center cannot guarantee Bridgeport High School a victory in its case, the pro-family attorney insists, and neither can anyone else. "That's the problem in these cases," he asserts, "and that's why Congress has even taken a look at the provision in the civil rights laws that permits prevailing plaintiffs to recover these attorneys' fees in cases like this."
The portrait of Christ that has been on display at Bridgeport High School for more than 40 years is not costing Harrison County officials a dime right now, where it is, Crampton says, "but it could cost them a pretty penny in the event they're unsuccessful in this litigation." Undoubtedly, he suggests, the school board will take that into consideration as they decide what to do next.
Recently, the American Legion's Rees Lloyd -- a former ACLU staff attorney -- testified before Congress in favor of Indiana Congressman John Hostettler's Public Expression of Religion Act (H.R. 2679), describing under oath how the liberal litigation group profits from its lawsuits attacking Christianity (see related story). Crampton says the ACLU is able to benefit financially from these attacks because of an obscure provision of the Civil Rights Act, which Hostettler's bill is designed to amend. The Public Expression of Religion Act is supported by 45 other sponsors as well as by the American Legion.
Lloyd noted in his Congressional testimony that while the ACLU's attacks have been launched primarily against Christian symbols such as the cross, they have targeted the Jewish Star of David as well. He said the ACLU has reaped millions of dollars in attorney fees by going after local governments that recognize America's religious heritage in any way.
