10th Cir. en banc

[Eric Treene]

The Tenth Circuit has decided to rehear en banc Snyder v. Murray City
Corp., 1997 WL 561229 (10th Cir. Sept. 10, 1997)  (available at
www.law.emory.edu/10circuit
/sept97/96-4087.wpd.html).   The case held that a city council could
exclude a citizen
from reading the following prayer during the "reverence" period at the
beginning of each meeting, on the grounds that the city council could
label it a statement rather than a prayer:

Our mother, who art in heaven (if, indeed there
    is a heaven and if there is a God that takes a
    woman's form) . . .

    We fervently ask that you guide the leaders of
    this city . . . so that they may see the wisdom
    of separating church and state and so that they
    will never again perform demeaning religious
    ceremonies as part of official government
    functions;

    We pray that you prevent self-righteous
    politicians from mis-using the name of God in
    conducting government meetings; and, that you
    lead them away from the hypocritical and
    blasphemous deception of the public, . . . .

    Also, last week the Tenth Circuit denied a request for rehearing en
banc in Bauchman v West High School.

--
Eric Treene
The Becket Fund