ACLU says Board of Supervisors not permitted to promote one religion over others
Danville, VA – U.S. District Court Judge Michael Urbanski will hear arguments tomorrow, December 9, in the ACLU of Virginia’s challenge to sectarian prayers delivered by members of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors at meetings.
The court will consider arguments in the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case, and plaintiff’s motions to proceed using pseudonyms and for preliminary injunction.
“Members of the Board of Supervisors are free to express their religious beliefs and prayer when acting as individuals,” said ACLU of Virginia Legal Director Rebecca Glenberg. “But when they are acting as members of a local governing body, they are the voice of the government and should not favor one religion over others.”
The controversy began in August, when the ACLU of Virginia received a complaint that at almost all meetings of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors a member of the Board delivered an opening prayer invoking the name of Jesus Christ. Following the complaint, Glenberg wrote a letter to the Board explaining the federal court rulings holding that government bodies violate the First Amendment when they open their meetings with a sectarian prayer. The letter requested that the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors cease opening its meetings with prayers that favor one religion over others.
The Board refused to stop the practice, prompting the ACLU to file a lawsuit on September 16. The plaintiff in the case is a Pittsylvania County citizen who regularly attends board meetings and objects to the prayers. Because the Board continues to have sectarian prayers at meetings, the ACLU has asked the court to step in and immediately stop the Board’s unconstitutional practice.
Regarding the motion to proceed using pseudonyms, Glenberg said, “There has been a great deal of hostility toward the plaintiff in this case in Pittsylvania County. We seek to protect our client from potential harassment or violence by asking the court to shield her identity.”
The plaintiff is represented by Rebecca K. Glenberg and Thomas Okuda Fitzpatrick of the ACLU of Virginia, and Frank Feibelman, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Virginia. The complaint can be found online at http://acluva.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/20110926PittsylvaniaPrayerComplaint.pdf.
Contact: ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis, 804-644-8022
Case: Doe v. Pittsylvania County When: Friday, December 9, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. Where: Courtroom of Judge Michael F. Urbanski, U.S. District Court, Danville 700 Main Street, Danville, Virginia 24541 Attorney Arguing for the ACLU: Rebecca K. Glenberg, Legal Director
