{"id":293,"date":"2010-06-24T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-24T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/06\/another-faulty-federal-court-d.html"},"modified":"2010-06-24T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-06-24T10:00:00","slug":"another-faulty-federal-court-d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/06\/another-faulty-federal-court-d.html","title":{"rendered":"Another Faulty Federal Court Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry,<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Like many decisions recently by federal district courts – the decision by the federal district court in Connecticut prohibiting two Enfield School District high schools from holding their graduation ceremonies at First Cathedral was simply wrong.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Unfortunately, the calendar did not permit an expedited appeal to the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  <\/span>It’s important to note, however, that the case is still on appeal to the 2nd Circuit and we believe that both the facts and previous court decisions – including those from the Supreme Court – will ultimately result in a reversal of the federal district court decision.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Our position is that a church, mosque or synagogue is a neutral venue for a high school graduation.  <\/span>As the court in the Elmbrook<\/i> federal district court case out of Wisconsin held with regard to a high school graduation in a church: a graduation ceremony in a church is not a church ceremony.  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The Supreme Court has consistently held that religion is neither to be aided nor hindered which means that religion is to be treated neutrally.  <\/span>In Agostini<\/i>, Justice O’Connor held that there had been a substantial change in Establishment Clause jurisprudence and that religion was no longer presumed to adversely affect children and adults that come into contact with it.  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Federal appeals courts in several different cases have held that students singing in a choir at a church could not sue for their discomfort under the Establishment Clause, that voting in a church does not violate the Establishment Clause (Rabbinowitz<\/i> and Otero<\/i>), and that a post office in a church did not, in and of itself, violate the Establishment Clause in the Cooper <\/i>case decided by the 2nd Circuit. <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

It is clear that as long as the church is not conducting a religious ceremony at the time, or mixing together religious and non-religious  <\/span>messages, it is a proper venue for many publicly supported neutral — or otherwise secular — activities.  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Federal courts in Otero<\/i> and Rabbinowitz<\/i> have also taken a practical, common sense approach to this issue – unlike the district court in the Enfield case.  <\/span>These federal courts have held that the fact that churches contain religious images do not trigger Establishment Clause violations.  <\/span>These courts have noted that a reasonable person would know that the religious images on the walls of a church would belong to the church, not to the state, and therefore not conclude from a public event in a church that the state had endorsed religion. <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, the fact is that both principals of Enfield’s high schools testified that First Cathedral best met the needs that the high schools had for graduations.  <\/span>They also stated that First Cathedral had the most seats, was the most reasonable facility to provide all of the amenities like pre- and post-graduation staging areas, provided handicap access and elevators, and was substantially less expensive – all essential ingredients in determining the venue for graduation ceremonies.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Barry, this decision in Connecticut only makes it more difficult for public schools to make decisions about graduation venues.  <\/span>It provides no clarity and conflicts with previous decisions.  <\/span>And, like federal district court decisions we have debated here regarding other issues – it is by no means the end of the story.<\/p>\n

To subscribe to “Lynn v. Sekulow” click <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry, Like many decisions recently by federal district courts – the decision by the federal district court in Connecticut prohibiting two Enfield School District high schools from holding their graduation ceremonies at First Cathedral was simply wrong. Unfortunately, the calendar did not permit an expedited appeal to the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,75,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-courts","category-establishment-clause","category-public-schools"],"yoast_head":"\nAnother Faulty Federal Court Decision - 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\/293","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=293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}