I thought this weeks assignment in Constitutional Law was a must see for all... Town of Greece v. Galloway, Docket No. 12-696 In the Town of Greece, New York, the town council has a tradition of opening its meetings with a prayer. This prayer is led by different members of the local clergy as well as community members. No preference is implied by the town’s government as to what religious affiliation the persons leading the opening prayer are members of. It just so happens that the majority of those that volunteer to lead the opening prayer are of the Christian faith. Two members of the local community challenged the Constitutionality of prayer at a city government meeting in court. The Second Circuit Court ruled that prayer in the Town of Greece’s council meetings violated the Establishment Cause of the First Amendment of the Constitution, which holds that the government cannot establish a religion of preference. (U.S. Const. amend I). The Second Circuit Court said that even though the Town of Greece had established no preference to what religion the person that led the opening prayer was, the fact that the majority were of a variation of Christianity could be perceived as giving preference to the Christian faith. The Second Circuit Court came to this decision based on the precedent set in Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983), which establishes that prayer in a legislative session cannot give preference to one religion, or in any way slight another. On December 6th of 2012, Attorneys for the Town of Greece filled a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court based on their belief that the Second District Court erred in its ruling on the case. The argument that petitioner is presenting is that the Second Circuit Court should have held that prayer at government meetings should only be forbidden if it is used to influence someone into believing something. This notion, if adopted by the Supreme Court would set a standard that would overrule the precedent set in Marsh v. Chambers. Five Amicus Briefs were filed with the court before the Petition was granted on May 20th of this year. Since then, twenty seven more amicus briefs have been filled with the Court, including one from the White House in support of the Town of Greece’s position. The case is scheduled for oral arguments on November 6th of this year. If the ruling if overturned by the Court, not only would this case set a monumental precedent for the limitations of religion in government, it would open the door for the court to interpret limitations on religious influences in the private sector. A case involving an employer refusing to offer employees healthcare plans that include the morning after pill because of their religious beliefs, and a case involving a photographer refusing to work with photos from a gay wedding because of his religious beliefs are working their way into the Courts agenda. The precedent set Town Greece v Galoway could have an impact on how these cases are decided. I find this case interesting because I can relate to it. I am a city councilman in the small town in Washington State I live in. In our city government there is no relation to any religion, and we would never permit any type of religious demonstration into our meeting. The bottom line is that one of the founding principles of this country is the separation between church and state. This ideal is constitutionally guaranteed at every level of American government. The concept not only pertains to those who are religious, but also for those who are not. Allowing any religious demonstration or action into a government meeting not only offends all those of any other religion, it also imposes the concept of religion onto those who choose to abstain from it. All forms or religion are subjective. Our society is one of laws and their objective interpretation. Our country was the first to adopt the concept that no religion of any kind should be involved in government. One of the founders, John Quincy Adams, took the oath of Presidential office, swearing on a book of laws, because religion had no place in government. Over the last 200 years, our society has strayed from the concept of separation between church and state greatly, even adding the words “in god we trust” to our currency and adding the words “under god” to our pledge of allegiance. I think this trend should be stopped and reversed, beginning with the Supreme Court upholding the Second District Courts ruling on this case. Works Cited The United States Constitution Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983) scotusblog/case-files/cases/town-of-greece-v-galloway/ supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/12-696.htm
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 01:30:05 +0000
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