Opinion ID: 1741615
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The Alabama Freethought Association

Text: The Alabama Freethought Association (AFA) also argues that the practices in question in this case are unconstitutional, citing Larson v. Valente, 456 U.S. 228, 102 S.Ct. 1673, 72 L.Ed.2d 33 (1982), for the proposition that state-sponsored prayer that promotes a religion is unconstitutional. The AFA further maintains that Judge Moore has allowed only Christian ministers of Protestant denominations to lead prayers in his courtroom and is thus violating the dictates of Larson. It also argues that Judge Moore similarly violates Larson by displaying what it calls a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments on the wall, stating that the content and meaning of the Commandments are debated by both Christian and Jewish theologians. The AFA, like the ACLUA, also argues that the trial judge correctly applied the Lemon test, and it argues that Marsh `s authorization of prayer is not applicable in this case, because, it says, Marsh was limited to prayers offered in legislative assemblies, for which there was an unbroken history since the founding of the Republic. It argues that the decision in Marsh does not address prayers in courts, and, further, that even if it did, no party presented evidence of a continuous practice of offering prayers in courtrooms in Alabama. The AFA further contends that, in contrast to legislative bodies, courts must be impartial and must be seen as impartial. It argues that the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics require such impartiality and require judges to avoid the appearance of impropriety.