High court wrestles with prayer in government
Legal Events
The Supreme Court wrestled Wednesday with the appropriate role for religion in government in a case involving mainly Christian prayers at the start of a New York town's council meetings.
The justices began their day with the marshal's customary plea that "God save the United States and this honorable court." They then plunged into a lively give-and-take that highlighted the sensitive nature of offering religious invocations in public proceedings that don't appeal to everyone and governments' efforts to police the practice.
The court is weighing a federal appeals court ruling that said the Rochester suburb of Greece, N.Y., violated the Constitution because nearly every prayer in an 11-year span was overtly Christian.
The tenor of the argument indicated the justices would not agree with the appellate ruling. But it was not clear what decision they might come to instead.
Justice Elena Kagan summed up the difficult task before the court when she noted that "every time the court gets involved in things like this, it seems to make the problem worse rather than better."
The justices tried out several approaches to the issue, including one suggested by the two Greece residents who sued over the prayers to eliminate explicit references to any religion.
Related listings
-
The Mavroudis & Guarino Litigation Group
Legal Events 11/02/2013Manhattan Beach Employment Lawyer, Craig Hubble, is the aggressive representation you need and is someone who will devote their time and highest level of service to his clients in business entities including but not limited to commercial and civil li...
-
SC trial lawyer Ron Motley dies at age 68
Legal Events 08/26/2013Celebrated South Carolina lawyer Ron Motley has died at the age of 68, law partner Joe Rice confirmed Thursday. No cause of death was given for the trial lawyer, and funeral arrangements have not been announced. Motley served as lead counsel in lawsu...
-
Federal court officials fear budget cuts
Legal Events 08/06/2013Federal courts officials in Minnesota say they're worried automatic spending cuts will jeopardize the justice system's smooth operation, with layoffs likely in both the U.S. attorney and public defender's offices. The cuts are part of what's known as...