Jaffree v. James, Civ. A. No. 82-0792-H.

• Decision Date: 14 January 1983
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 82-0792-H.
• Citation: 554 F. Supp. 1130
• Parties: Ishmael JAFFREE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Fob JAMES, in his official capacities as Governor of the State of Alabama and ex officio member of the State Board of Education; Charles Graddick, in his official capacity as Attorney General for the State of Alabama; John Tyson, Jr., Ron Creel, S.A. Cherry, Ralph Higginbotham, Victor P. Poole, Harold C. Martin, James B. Allen, Jr., and Roscoe Roberts, Jr., in their official capacities as members of the Alabama State Board of Education, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Alabama

554 F. Supp. 1130

Ishmael JAFFREE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Fob JAMES, in his official capacities as Governor of the State of Alabama and ex officio member of the State Board of Education; Charles Graddick, in his official capacity as Attorney General for the State of Alabama; John Tyson, Jr., Ron Creel, S.A. Cherry, Ralph Higginbotham, Victor P. Poole, Harold C. Martin, James B. Allen, Jr., and Roscoe Roberts, Jr., in their official capacities as members of the Alabama State Board of Education, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 82-0792-H.

United States District Court, S.D. Alabama, S.D.

January 14, 1983.

Ronnie L. Williams, Mobile, Ala., for plaintiffs.

Anne Neamon, pro se and for petitioners as Friend of Court Citizens for God and Country.

Fob James, III, pro se.

Charles S. Coody, Counsel Director, Div. of Legal Services, Dept. of Education, Montgomery, Ala., for defendants, Tyson, Creel, Cherry, Higginbotham, Poole, Martin, Allen and Roberts.

Bob Sherling, Mobile, Ala., for intervenors.

Maury D. Smith, David R. Boyd, Montgomery, Ala., for Gov. James.

ORDER

HAND, Chief Judge.

The complaint in this case challenges Senate Bill 8, Alabama Act 82-735, popularly known as "the Prayer Law", Senate Bill 61 (1982), Ala.Code § 16-1-20 (silent meditation), and Ala.Code § 16-1-22.1.

I. The Allegations

The complaint in this case alleges that Senate Bill 61 (1982), Senate Bill 8 (1982) and Ala.Code § 16-1-20.1 violate the rights of the plaintiffs to be free from the state endorsement and establishment of any religion.

Senate Bill 61 (1982) provides:

To prescribe a period of time in the public schools, not to exceed fifteen minutes, for the study of the formal procedures followed by the United States Congress which study shall include the reading verbatum of one of the opening prayers given by either the House or the Senate Chaplain at the beginning of the meeting of the United States House or Senate.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section I At the commencement of the first class of each day in all grades in all public schools the teacher in charge of the room in which said class is held shall, for a period of time not exceeding fifteen minutes, instruct the class in the formal procedure followed by the United States Congress. The study shall include, but not be limited to, the reading verbatum of one of the opening prayers given by either the House or the Senate Chaplain at the beginning of the meeting of the House or Senate. Any student may select an opening House or Senate prayer from the Congressional Record for use by the class.

Senate Bill 8 (1982) provides as follows:

To provide for a prayer that may be given in the public schools and educational institutions of this state.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section I. From henceforth, any teacher or professor in any public educational institution within the State of Alabama, recognizing that the Lord God is one, at the beginning of any homeroom or any class, may lead the willing students in the following prayer to God:

Almighty God, You alone are our God. We acknowledge You as the Creator and Supreme Judge of the world. May Your justice, Your truth, and Your peace abound this day in the hearts of our countrymen, in the counsels of our government, in the sancity of our homes and in the classrooms of our schools. In the name of our Lord. Amen.

Ala.Code Section 16-1-20.1 provides:

At the commencement of the first class of each day in all grades in all public schools, the teacher in charge of the room in which each such class is held may announce that a period of silence not to exceed one minute in duration shall be observed for meditation or voluntary prayer, and during any such period no other activity shall be engaged in.

II. Claims for Relief

The state laws are challenged under two separate theories. First, the laws are attacked as being violative of the first amendment to the United States Constitution. The first amendment provides in part that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...." U.S. Const. Amend. I.

The second basis for attacking the laws rests upon a pendent, state-law claim. The amended complaint alleges that the laws in question...