ACLJ Files Lawsuit Against Texas School District Over Equal Access for Church.

Business Editors & Legal Writers

MARSHALL, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2000

The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, today filed suit in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas on behalf of a Pastor and his Church after they were denied access to a school facility because the Church planned to use the facility for an evening dinner theatre that included religious speech.

"The law is very clear on this issue - if a school district permits community groups and organizations to use its facilities it cannot reject an organization because its speech is religious," said Kevin Theriot, Senior Associate Counsel of the ACLJ, who is representing the Pastor and Church. "The policy and actions of the school district are discriminatory and we have filed suit in federal court challenging the validity and constitutionality of the policy."

The ACLJ filed suit on behalf of John Wesley Smith, Jr. of Atlanta, Texas who is Pastor of CrossRoads Church, Inc. which is located in Naples, Texas in the northeast section of the state. The suit alleges that Smith requested to use the high school cafeteria of the Pewitt Consolidated Independent School District in Omaha, Texas for a dinner theatre to be held on the evening of April 15th. The Pastor said the event would have included an opening prayer, dinner, Christian dramas, music, and interpretive dance. The request was rejected by the School District, which said the Church was permitted to use the facility only if "they omit their 'very religious' dramas."

Because of the actions of the School District, the Church was forced to hold its dinner theatre at another location incurring rental fees that would not have been incurred if the Church had been permitted to use the school facility as other community groups do -- free of charge.

According to the suit, the school district also told the Pastor that only funerals and non-religious activities were permitted in the facilities. However, the school facilities use policy permits community organizations and groups - including church groups - to use the facilities free of charge.

The suit contends that the actions of the School District are discriminatory because it singles out the religious speech of the church.

"You cannot discriminate against an organization because you consider its speech too religious," said Theriot. "Our clients simply want equal access and equal treatment - the same treatment afforded to other community organizations."

The suit names as defendants the Pewitt Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees, its President, Board Members and the Superintendent of Schools. The suit contends that the defendants violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution as well as provisions of the Texas Constitution. The suit requests a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting the school district from continuing to enforce its policy.

The American Center for Law and Justice is an international public interest law firm and educational organization that specializes in First Amendment law. The ACLJ focuses on pro-family, pro-life, and pro-liberty cases. The ACLJ is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA and the Web site address is www.aclj.org.