{"id":115,"date":"2009-01-16T12:40:32","date_gmt":"2009-01-16T12:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/01\/green-light-for-inaugural-pray.html"},"modified":"2009-01-16T12:40:32","modified_gmt":"2009-01-16T12:40:32","slug":"green-light-for-inaugural-pray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/01\/green-light-for-inaugural-pray.html","title":{"rendered":"‘Green Light’ for Inaugural Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry, the federal district court in Washington reached the only conclusion it could:  <\/span>the court decided it could not step in and stop the prayers scheduled for the Presidential inauguration next week and cannot prevent President-elect Obama from ending his oath with the phrase, “so help me God.”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

In a decision issued last night, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton concluded he did not have the authority to order Obama not to say those words, saying the President had a right to free speech.  <\/span>The Judge also questioned whether he could order Chief Justice Roberts, who administers the oath of office, what to say or what not to say.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

At the same time, Judge Walton also said he didn’t think the prayer at the inaugural ceremony “is somehow going to give the impression that the government is endorsing religion.”  <\/span>That’s exactly what we argued in our amicus brief <\/a>filed with the court.  <\/span><\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This is the correct decision, and while you may not be surprised by the outcome Barry, an attorney with the American Humanist Association, which filed the suit in conjunction with California atheist Michael Newdow, called the decision “profoundly disappointing.”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

The attorney told a reporter after the decision that this case is not about atheists merely “feeling offended. There is real harm,” Bob Ritter said. “First, all Americans will be injured on January 20 by the Chief Justice, the Presidential Inaugural Committee and other defendants violating the principle of separation of church and state . . .”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

The court disagreed saying the plaintiffs lacked legal standing and failed to show any concrete “harm” that would result from the prayers and phrase being used.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

The court got it right and it’s a decision that should stand even if it is appealed.<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry, the federal district court in Washington reached the only conclusion it could:  the court decided it could not step in and stop the prayers scheduled for the Presidential inauguration next week and cannot prevent President-elect Obama from ending his oath with the phrase, “so help me God.”   In a decision issued last night,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-free-speech","category-religious-freedom"],"yoast_head":"\n'Green Light' for Inaugural Prayer - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}