United States Fifth Circuit

A permanent injunction barring a school board from opening its meetings with prayer is affirmed where the prayers demonstrated a clear preference for Christianity, and thus were not permitted under Marsh v.Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983). The injunctive relief, however, requires significant narrowing since it enjoined all prayers at board meetings.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/15/2006
• Published 12/18/2006

Judges

• EDITH H. JONES, Chief Judge, joined by E. GRADY JOLLY, JERRY E. SMITH, EMILIO M. GARZA, DeMOSS, EDITH BROWN CLEMENT, PRADO and OWEN, Circuit Judges:, Before JONES, Chief Judge, and KING, JOLLY, DAVIS, SMITH, WIENER, BARKSDALE, GARZA, DeMOSS, BENAVIDES, STEWART, DENNIS, CLEMENT, PRADO, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Joshua Simon Force (argued), Sher, Garner, Cahill, Richter, Kelin & Hilbert, New Orleans, LA, Emma E. Daschbach, Siller Wilk, New York City for Anti-Defamation League, Amicus Curiae., Ayesha Khan, Americans United for Separation of Church & State, Washington, DC, Thomas J. Stein, Proskauer Rose, New York City, for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Amicus Curiae., Kelly J. Shackelford, Hiram Stanley Sasser, Liberty Legal Institute, Plano, TX, James Michael Johnson (argued), Alliance Defense Fund, Shreveport, LA, Kevin Hayden Theriot, Alliance Defense Fund, Olathe, KS, for Tangipahoa Parish School Bd., Edward Lawrence White, III, Thomas More Law Center, Ann Arbor, MI, for Thomas More Law Center, Amicus Curiae., Benjamin David DuPre', Law Offices of Benjamin D. DuPre', Montgomery, AL, for Foundation for Moral Law, Amicus Curiae., Roy A. Mongrue, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Katherine Whitney, Uma Subramanian, Baton Rouge, LA, for State of Louisiana, Amicus Curiae., Kenneth F. Sills, Hammonds & Sills, Baton Rouge, LA, for Louisiana Schools Bds. Ass'n, Amicus Curiae., Jay A. Sekulow, American Center for Law & Justice, Virginia Beach, VA, for American Center for Law and Justice, Amicus Curiae., Joshua William Carden, Joshua Carden Law Firm PC, Weatherford, TX, for Family Research Council and Louisiana Family Forum-Attorneys Resource Council, Amici Curiae., Steven W. Fitschen, National Legal Foundation, Virginia Beach, VA, for National Legal Foundation, Amicus Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Ronald Lawrence Wilson (argued), New Orleans, LA, Katharine Murphy Schwartzmann, ACLU of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff-Appellee., Louis C. LaCour, Jr., Albert Kirk Gasperecz, Adams & Reese, New Orleans, LA, James Allen Keith, Adams & Reese, Jackson, MS, Christopher M. Moody, Moody & Moody, Hammond, LA, for Defendants-Appellants.