4th Circuit (Including O'Connor) Hears Council Prayer Appeal
Baptist minister Hashmel Turner has been on the Fredericksburg City Council for six years and a plaintiff against it now for two. Rev. Turner objects to his inability to pray "in Jesus' name" to open the meetings, as Council policy requires any invocation to be non-sectarian.
Earlier this week, a 4th Circuit panel that included Justice Sandra Day O' Connor heard Turner's appeal of a lower court's rejection of his argument.
O'Connor...quizzed the council member's lawyer on issues related to limits on legislative prayer. She asked the lawyer whether he could cite any cases in which such prayer was not considered government speech, attorneys for both sides said, and he answered, "No."The Court has consistently considered prayer opening government meetings to constitute government speech. We are hearing the freedom of speech argument more and more against this prohibition of government-led sectarian prayer. Luckily, for now, courts do not seem moved by it. Just one more reason to monitor judicial appointments and insist that the public officials making them have a proper understanding of, and respect for, the nuances that maintain our church and state independence.