Appeals court dismisses challenge to government prayers in Louisiana.A sharply divided federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging sectarian sec·tar·i·an adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a sect. 2. Adhering or confined to the dogmatic limits of a sect or denomination; partisan. 3. Narrow-minded; parochial. n. 1. prayers before local school board meetings in Louisiana, holding that the people who brought the case don't have the right to sue. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc [Latin, French. In the bench.] Full bench. Refers to a session where the entire membership of the court will participate in the decision rather than the regular quorum. In other countries, it is common for a court to have more members than are , ruled 8-7 July 26 that the lawsuit against the Tangipahoa Parish School Board should be dismissed. (Counties in Louisiana are called parishes.) An anonymous family, identified in court documents as the Does, challenged the practice of allowing school board members to choose ministers, parents or others to open meetings with prayers. The invocations have often been Christian in nature. Two courts struck down the board's prayer policy, but this new ruling vacates those opinions and means the challenge may have to be mounted again. The court majority said the family that filed the lawsuit could not prove they had actually attended meetings and heard the prayers. "The question is whether there is proof in the record that Doe or his sons were exposed to, and may thus claim to have been injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. by, invocations given at any Tangipahoa Parish School Board meeting," wrote Judge Edith H. Jones for the majority in Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish School Board. Jones pointed out that the case may be re-filed by plaintiffs who can prove they heard the prayers. The Doe family, represented by the Louisiana ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. , asserts that they did attend the meetings. Dissenting dis·sent intr.v. dis·sent·ed, dis·sent·ing, dis·sents 1. To differ in opinion or feeling; disagree. 2. To withhold assent or approval. n. 1. Judge Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale Rhesa Barksdale (born 1944) is a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Early life and education Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale was born in Jackson, Mississippi. accused the majority of misapplying the law as it relates to "standing"--the right to sue. |
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