Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish School Bd., Civil Action No. 08-1172.
| Decision Date | 24 June 2009 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 08-1172. |
| Citation | 631 F.Supp.2d 823 |
| Parties | John DOE # 2, et al. v. TANGIPAHOA PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, et al. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana |
Ronald Lawrence Wilson, Ronald L. Wilson, Attorney at Law, New Orleans, LA, Daniel Mach, Heather L. Weaver, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Washington, DC, J. Michael Johnson, Alliance Defense Fund, Shreveport, LA, Katharine Murphy Schwartzmann, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New Orleans, LA, for John Doe # 2, et al.
J. Michael Johnson, Alliance Defense Fund, Shreveport, LA, Christopher M. Moody, Moody & Moody, Hammond, LA, Scott U. Schlegel, Scott Schlegel, Attorney at Law, Metairie, LA, Timothy D. Chandler, Alliance Defense Fund, Folsom, CA, for Tangipahoa Parish School Board, et al.
ORDER AND REASONS
MARTIN L.C. FELDMAN, District Judge.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;. . . .
One wonders whether the Founding Fathers ever envisioned the intense . . . at times, malevolent . . . discourse these simple, instructive words would evoke throughout the land for over 200 years. Should "In God We Trust" be removed from our currency? Should the opening of Court not begin with an incantation to God to "save the United States and this Honorable Court"? Indeed, should reference to an awareness of God be stricken from the federal Constitutional oath of office? Or from the revered Declaration of Independence? Where does the injunction of the First Amendment lead us?
This case involves a prayer . . . a Christian prayer . . . at school board meetings in Tangipahoa Parish.
Before the Court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, the motions are DENIED. This Court holds that the U.S. Supreme Court's exception for legislative prayer applies to the Tangipahoa Parish School Board. Whether the School Board can avoid charges of exploitation of religion and proselytizing must await trial.
This lawsuit arises out of a challenge by public school students and their parents to the Tangipahoa Parish School Board's policy of opening school board meetings with a prayer delivered by a member of the local clergy.
In 2003, "John Doe" filed suit in federal court against the defendants, alleging that their practice of opening School Board meetings with a prayer violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ruling that Marsh v. Chambers does not apply in the public school context, another Section of this Court held that the defendants' practice was unconstitutional and enjoined them. See Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish Sch. Bd., No. 03-2780, 2005 WL 517341, at *5-9 (Feb. 24, 2005). Assuming without deciding that the School Board was a "legislative or other deliberative body" within the meaning of the Supreme Court's Marsh v Chambers decision, a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit then affirmed in part, holding that the School Board's practice of opening its meetings with a sectarian Christian prayer fell outside the Marsh legislative prayer exception. Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish Sch. Bd., 473 F.3d 188, 197, 205 (5th Cir.2006), vacated on reh'g en banc, 494 F.3d 494 (5th Cir.2007). But, on rehearing en banc, the Fifth Circuit reconsidered and held that the district court record contained insufficient evidence that the plaintiff Doe had ever attended any Board meetings; the Court of Appeals vacated and remanded the divided panel decision, on the single ground that the plaintiff had not proved standing to bring suit. Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish Sch. Bd., 494 F.3d 494, 499 (5th Cir.2007) (en banc). After the School Board adopted a new policy in August 2007, John Doe again filed suit (on behalf of himself and his minor child, "Minor Doe"), along with his wife, "Sally Doe", and his daughter, "Jane Doe."
The Tangipahoa Parish School Board is by law responsible for the operation and government of the 35 public schools, with more than 18,000 students, that comprise the Tangipahoa Parish School System. The Board holds public meetings twice monthly in the board room of the School System's Central Office in Amite, Louisiana.
Tangipahoa is a largely Christian community, and all current Board members identify themselves as Christians. The Parish is also home to many residents of non-Christian faiths (and to residents of no faith at all).
The School Board has no student board members. Nor are students required to attend School Board meetings. Students are, however, regularly invited to attend and do participate in School Board meetings, by leading the Pledge of Allegiance, reciting the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, and performing patriotic songs. The School Board also invites students to meetings to receive special recognition and rewards, and students participate in special ceremonies held during such meetings. Students also have the right to attend Board meetings to appeal certain disciplinary actions, such as expulsion, and to object to or comment on Board policies.
The Tangipahoa Parish School Board "has long maintained a tradition of solemnizing its proceedings by allowing for an opening prayer before each meeting, for the benefit and blessing of the Board."1 The School Board has opened its meeting with an invocation since 1973; board members, teachers, students, and invited clergy have delivered the prayers, which often have referred to Jesus or other Christian themes. In August 2004, several months after John Doe filed his first suit against the School Board and its members, the Board members considered requiring that these invocations be nonsectarian and nonproselytizing, but apparently unanimously rejected the proposal.
On August 21, 2007, less than a month after the Fifth Circuit issued its en banc ruling, and vacated its divided panel decision, the School Board voted "to adopt [a] formal, written policy to clarify and codify its invocation practices." The new policy authorizes the School Board to invite and host a rotating roster of Parish clergy to deliver prayers to "solemnize proceedings" and "acknowledge and express the Board's respect for the diversity of religious denominations and faiths . . . practiced among the citizens of Tangipahoa Parish."
The current statement of the School Board's policy, on its face, articulates homage and respect to diverse established religious faiths:
1. In order to solemnize proceedings of the Tangipahoa Parish School Board, it is the policy of the Board to allow for an invocation or prayer to be offered before its meetings for the benefit of the Board.
2. The prayer shall not be listed or recognized as an agenda item for the meeting or as part of the public business.
3. No member of employee of the Board or any other person in attendance at the meeting shall be required to participate in any prayer that is offered.
4. The prayer shall be voluntarily delivered by an eligible member of the clergy in the Parish of Tangipahoa, Louisiana. To ensure that such person (the "invocation speaker") is selected from among a wide pool of the parish's clergy, on a rotating basis, the invocation speaker shall be selected according to the following procedure:
a. The Secretary to the Tangipoha Parish School Board (the "Secretary") shall compile and maintain a database (the "Congregations List") of the religious congregations with an established presence in the local community of Tangipahoa Parish.
b. The Congregations List shall be compiled by referencing the listing for "churches," "congregations," or other religious assemblies in the annual Yellow Pages phone book(s) published for Tangipahoa Parish, research from the Internet, and consultation with local chambers of commerce. All religious congregations with an established presence in the local community of Tangipahoa Parish are eligible to be included in the Congregations List, and any such congregation can confirm its inclusion by specific written request to the Clerk.
c. The Congregations List shall also include the name and contact information of any chaplain who may serve one or more of the fire departments or law enforcement agencies of Tangipahoa Parish.
d. The Congregations List shall be updated by reasonable efforts of the Secretary, in November of each calendar year.
e. Within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this policy, and on or about December 1 of each calendar year thereafter, the Secretary shall mail an invitation addressed to the "religious leader" of each congregation listed on the Congregations List, as well as to the individual chaplains included on the Congregations List.
f. The invitation shall be dated at the top of the page, signed by the Secretary at the bottom of the page, and read as follows:
Dear Religious Leader,
The Tangipahoa Parish School Board makes it a policy to invite members of the clergy in Tangipahoa Parish to voluntarily offer a prayer before the beginning of its meetings for the benefit and blessing of the Board. As the leader of one of the religious congregations with an established presence in the local community, or in your capacity as a chaplain for one of the local fire departments or law enforcement agencies, you are eligible to offer this important service at an upcoming meeting of the Board.
If you are willing to assist the Board in this regard, please send a written reply at your earliest convenience to the Board secretary at the address included on this letterhead. Clergy are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. The dates of the Board's scheduled meetings for the upcoming year are listed on the following attached page. If you have a preference among the dates, please state that request in your written reply.
This opportunity is voluntary and you are free to offer the invocation according to the dictates of your own conscience. To...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Susan Galloway v. Greece
...Plaintiff re-filed his lawsuit, and established his standing to challenge the school board's policy. In Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish Sch. Bd., 631 F.Supp.2d 823 (E.D.La.2009) (" Doe II"), the district court considered cross-motions for summary judgment on the Establishment Clause claims. The di......
-
Doe v. Indian River Sch. Dist.
...because it takes place on school premises where elementary school children may be present"). 121. Doe Dep. at 16-17. 122. See Doe, 631 F.Supp.2d at 839 n. 22 ("[T]hat school children may participate school board meetings cannot be dispositive of the constitutional analysis: students may wel......
-
Rubin v. City of Lancaster
...of Greece, 732 F.Supp.2d 195 (W.D.N.Y.2010); Doe v. Indian River Sch. Dist., 685 F.Supp.2d 524 (D.Del.2010); Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish Sch. Bd., 631 F.Supp.2d 823 (E.D.La.2009); see also Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577, 112 S.Ct. 2649, 120 L.Ed.2d 467 (1992) (holding a school could not provide ......
-
Am. Humanist Ass'n v. McCarty
...exception does not apply to a school board's practice of beginning its meetings with invocations. In Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 631 F.Supp.2d 823, 839 (E.D. La. 2009), the court found that the legislative-prayer exception did apply to a school board's practice of beginning schoo......
-
Expression of Religion in Public Schools
...(5th Cir. 1995). 122. Doe v. Indian River Sch. Dist., 685 F.Supp.2d 524, 534 (D.Del. 2010). But see John Doe #2 v. Tangipahoa Sch. Bd., 631 F.Supp.2d 823, 838 (E.D.La. 2009) (noting that the Sixth Circuit has declined to apply the legislative prayer exception and applies a traditional Estab......