- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
- AU’s Role: Counsel
- AU's Involvement Began: February 2007
- Status: Ongoing
Description
The Greece Town Board has a longstanding practice of inviting clergy to open the Board’s monthly meetings with a prayer. Over the past decade, all but two of the prayergivers have been Christian. The Town Board has neither suggested nor required that prayergivers present inclusive, nonsectarian entreaties. As a result, the vast majority of prayers have been explicitly Christian in content. Representing two town citizens, we filed suit in federal district court in February 2008, alleging that the Town Board’s policy and practice of sponsoring persistently sectarian prayers violates the Establishment Clause. The complaint asks the court to declare these activities unconstitutional and to prohibit the Town Board from sponsoring sectarian prayers at future meetings. On January 20, 2009, following the completion of discovery, we filed a motion for summary judgment. Defendants filed a cross-motion for summary judgment on the same date.
Most Recent Developments
The court held a hearing on the summary-judgment motions on August 13, 2009, and we await the court’s decision.
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