Opinion ID: 1741615
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama

Text: The ACLUA argues that Judge Moore's practice of opening jury sessions with clergy-led prayer and his practice of displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom violate the Lemon test and are therefore unconstitutional. The ACLUA acknowledges that members of the Supreme Court have proposed alternative tests, but it argues that no case has specifically overruled Lemon and that other proposed tests have failed to win a majority; therefore, the ACLUA argues that the Lemon test is still the law. [22] Regarding the use of members of the clergy to offer prayers, the ACLUA argues that prayer is inherently religious and that any secular purpose Judge Moore ascribes to the prayer could be achieved through practices or means that do not involve prayer. Therefore, it argues, the practice of offering prayers fails to meet the secular purpose prong of Lemon. The ACLUA also argues that, contrary to Judge Moore's contention, this case is indistinguishable from Constangy, a case in which a state court judge's practice of beginning his opening court session with prayer was held to violate the Establishment Clause. The ACLUA also argues that the main effect of Judge Moore's practice of allowing prayers is to endorse Christianity, arguing that nonbelievers will be coerced into participating. It also contends that the prayers, which have been implicitly endorsed from the bench, constitute excessive entanglement. The ACLUA argues that Marsh, heavily relied upon by the State and Judge Moore, is inapplicable to this case. It argues that Marsh was limited to legislative prayer, and that Constangy distinguished Marsh and held that opening court with prayer is different from opening a legislative session with prayer, because of the judicial duty to be impartial and because of the coercion the ACLUA says is applied by requiring citizens to perform jury duty. Further, the ACLUA argues that no party presented substantial evidence that there is a long-standing tradition, either in Alabama courts or in federal courts, of opening sessions with a prayer. Regarding Judge Moore's displaying of the Ten Commandments, the ACLUA states that the practice violates each prong of the Lemon test, because the Ten Commandments are part of a religious text that provides guidance to believers. They argue that placing the Commandments on public display in the courtroom implies endorsement of that religious text by the court, citing Harvey v. Cobb County, 811 F.Supp. 669, in which the trial judge applied the Lemon test, just as the Constangy court had done. The ACLUA argues that, under Harvey, Judge Moore's display of the Ten Commandments would be constitutional only if the plaque were in the context of a historical display of other ancient sources of law. The ACLUA further maintains that Judge Moore's display of the Ten Commandments is not sanctioned by Marsh, because, it says, there is no long-standing tradition of having them similarly displayed, and that what Judge Moore refers to as accepted acknowledgments of God, or what the ACLUA calls ceremonial deism, are different from the practices at issue in this present case. Stated differently, it argues that the simple courtroom invocation May God save these United States and this Honorable Court and the term In God We Trust used on United States currency are different from the prayers offered in Judge Moore's courtroom. The ACLUA says that those examples have become so much a part of the American vernacular that they lack real religious meaning, but that Judge Moore's practices have a substantive religious meaning that he intends to convey.