Alabama federal judge issues final order in school prayer case
Nov. 13, 1997
MONTGOMERY -- Two weeks after issuing an injunction that touched off student walkouts and state government threats, a federal judge today issued a final order against Alabama for sponsoring religious activities in the public schools.
U.S. District Judge Ira DeMent granted summary judgment in a lawsuit challenging a 1993 state law designed to allow student-led prayers in numerous school settings, including in classrooms, at graduation, and at football games.
Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which jointly brought the case, said the order brings to close another legal chapter in the state's ongoing battle to use the schools for religious purposes.
"This order puts the finishing touches on a legal victory for religious freedom," said Pamela Sumners, an ACLU of Alabama cooperating attorney. "After carefully spelling out how Alabama school officials can protect the religious liberty of all students, this ruling acts to solidify those guidelines."
The order also paves the way for Judge DeMent to rule on a motion to stay his permanent injunction blocking enforcement of the 1993 law. A decision on the motion is expected sometime over the next several days.
The 17-page permanent injunction, issued on October 29, went into remarkable detail about where the state should draw the line between church and state, and offered many examples of religious activities which the injunction does not curtail.
Nonetheless, the injunction sparked a rash of school walkouts among students who felt that the ruling unjustly deprived them of government-sponsored Christian prayers. The injunction was also harshly criticized by Gov. Fob James and Etowah County Judge Roy Moore, both of whom threatened to prohibit DeMent's federal injunction from being enforced anywhere in Alabama.
In fact, Judge Moore issued an opinion last Tuesday purportedly blocking the injunction from being implemented in Etowah County, a move that reminded many of George Wallace's notorious effort to supersede the federal government's school desegregation order. A hearing had been scheduled today before Judge Moore to determine whether his order could be extended.
But Judge Moore’s opinion was rendered moot this week when Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor announced that the Etowah County plaintiffs agreed to withdraw their case in light of the state's decision to seek a stay of DeMent's ruling while moving to appeal.
DeMent’s ruling today is also notable for finding that school-sponsored religious activity is “pervasive and recurrent in the public schools of DeKalb County,” and for citing dozens of examples where the school violated the separation of church and state.
Among them is an ongoing routine at the Fyffe School lunchroom where about 200 or so students would stand and pray whenever Jesse Chandler, a plaintiff in the case, came into the room.
The ACLU cautioned that a decision by DeMent to reject the motion for stay, which would remove the last legal hurdle for his injunction to take effect, should not be met with more student walkouts and state government threats.
"Students and parents ought to recognize that the best way to ensure their religious freedom is by separating church and state," said James Tucker, staff attorney with the ACLU of Alabama. "Judge DeMent's injunction represents the wisdom of our founding fathers to protect religion from government meddling."
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