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Supreme Court turns down appeal in Turner prayer case; city policy stands Date published: 1/13/2009
BY EMILY BATTLE
The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear an appeal of the Fredericksburg City Council's policy of prohibiting specific religious references in prayers. Three years and one day after City Councilman Hashmel Turner filed suit against his fellow council members, maintaining that the policy violated his First Amendment rights, the Supreme Court yesterday turned down Turner's final appeal. Turner said he was disappointed by the news. "I still believe in my heart and in my soul that I am right, that it is not unconstitutional for Christians to pray in the public setting," he said. The court's decision not to hear the case means that a Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling upholding the city's policy will stand. That opinion was written by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who sat on the three-judge panel that heard Turner's appeal in Richmond last summer. That ruling, and the lower court rulings and courtroom discussions that preceded it, maintained that the prayers are government speech, and that the nonsectarian policy is actually required to keep the Fredericksburg council from violating the constitution's clause prohibiting government from establishing a religion, or showing preference of one religion over another. The city was represented free in the case by the Hunton & Williams law firm and the People for the American Way Foundation. Turner was represented by the Charlottesville-based Ruth-erford Institute. His lawyers argued that the prayers, given by individual councilmen, should not be considered government speech, and therefore should be protected by the First Amendment. The prayer issue arose in Fredericksburg in 2003, when a resident complained to the American Civil Liberties Union that Turner was invoking Jesus Christ in his opening prayers. The ACLU threatened to sue the city if that continued, so the council adopted a nondenominational prayer policy, and Turner was taken out of the prayer rotation. "From the onset, I was very set back and concerned as to why there was so much fear when it was just three words--'in Jesus' name,'" Turner said yesterday. "That was my prayer language and I just refused to compromise or change it." Turner said he still feels that his free-expression rights are violated by the policy, but he said it won't affect his service on the City Council. "This did not hinder my relationship with my fellow council members," Turner said. "I don't see where this ruling will change that in any way." Emily Battle: 540/374-5413
Or, if you would prefer, go ahead and expound on Dred Scott.
Show us your brilliance.
Virginia State Police Col. Steven Flaherty directed chaplains
to avoid denominational prayers at public events. Gov. Tim
Kaine upheld Flaherty's actions.A good number of
chaplains resigned in protest. Delegate Charles Carrico, R-
Grayson is preparing a bill that would prohibit Flaherty's
actions, calling them "censorship." See, I told you the
debate would rage on.
many of them went ballistic and this stopped. Why, because their child was not about to go to that heathen place to pray. Now this stopped from bible thumping, most far right, parents in my neighborhood. They were the most prejudice people I have ever met, although I truly loved most of them dearly. They were just ignorant people who had their ways beaten into their head. You can pray anywhere, anytime in this great country. If you "must" do it collectively, then you are missing the point in my view.
When I was a young boy, in 1965, we had prayer in school. Every Wednesday, Ms. Jameson would march our class over to the church that was about 250 yards from our school. We went to the basement and had bible studies. O.K., anyone having any problem with this yet. Not me. This went on for about about two months and then it stopped. You know why it stopped, because the church we were going to was a branch of the Mormon Church. When the predominately Baptist families found this out (cont)
so invariably the losers don't agree with the Court's opinion.
But what they say; goes. Turner's case is closed.
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