Judge Susan Dlott dismissed the suit. Since nonreligious people also observe the holiday, giving federal workers a day off for Christmas does not elevate one religion over another. Ganulin has promised to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. But the constitutionality of religiously-based holidays remains unclear. Both a federal district court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court ruled that a state declaration of a legal holiday on Good Friday was constitutional.
Citizens are better able to enjoy the many recreational opportunities available in Hawaii.
A federal judge and, later, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court ruled on a Illinois Good Friday law passed in 1941. The court confirmed a 1997 U.S. 4 th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling which found the law to be constitutional. The law had a secular purpose in that it gave a day off work for state employees. The holiday is part of a larger, secular, vacation period observed each spring. If the holiday were not observed, then the schools would have to go to the additional expense of hiring replacement teachers to fill in for teachers that observed the holiday.