BURBANK WANTS FEDERAL RULING ON PRAYER ISSUE COUNCIL FIGHTS COURT BAN ON SECTARIAN INVOCATIONS.Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer BURBANK - The city plans to seek a federal ruling after the California Supreme Court declined this week to review a lower court's decision that prohibits the Burbank City Council from beginning its public meetings with 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. The city's decision comes one day after the state high court let stand a September opinion from an appeals court, which ordered Burbank to advise anyone conducting a prayer as part of a council meeting that it could not be sectarian. Burbank's City Council has begun its meetings with an invocation invocation, n a prayer requesting and inviting the presence of God. by a member of a nondenominational non·de·nom·i·na·tion·al adj. Not restricted to or associated with a religious denomination. Adj. 1. nondenominational - not restricted to a particular religious denomination; "a nondenominational church" ministerial Done under the direction of a supervisor; not involving discretion or policymaking. Ministerial describes an act or a function that conforms to an instruction or a prescribed procedure. It connotes obedience. association since 1953. The city contends that the decision impedes its freedom of speech. Juli Scott, the city's chief assistant attorney, said Thursday that the California Supreme Court decision is not unusual. Even if the city had won the right for a review, the case would have moved to the federal courts. ``I look at this as a freedom-of-speech issue,'' Scott said. ``This is not a religious issue. It's a very interesting issue, something that hasn't been addressed by the Supreme Court in about 20 years.'' Jewish Defense League The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a militant Jewish organization whose stated goal is to protect Jews from anti-Semitism.[1] Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City in 1968, its self-described purpose was to protect Hasidic Jews from harassment in Brooklyn, and to leader Irv Rubin Irv Rubin (April 12, 1945 – November 13, 2002) was chairman of the militant Jewish Defense League from 1985 to 2002. Rubin was born in Canada, but after experiencing widespread anti-Semitism in his home city of Montreal, he and his parents and sister moved to the neighborhood , who died last month, and activist Roberto Gandara sued Burbank after a minister delivered a prayer invoking the name of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ: see Jesus. Jesus Christ 40 days after Resurrection, ascended into heaven. [N.T.: Acts 1:1–11] See : Ascension Jesus Christ kind to the poor, forgiving to the sinful. [N.T. before a council meeting in November 1999. Their attorney Roger Diamond said Thursday he was pleased with the decision, but welcomes any opportunity to take the case to the federal Supreme Court because it would make it a national ruling. ``The good news is that it stands and it is binding. It's binding in all cities in the state of California, in all counties and in all lower courts through the state,'' Diamond said. Diamond said Rubin's widow, Sarah, is following the case closely and has become his client. ``She very much wants to the case to move forward and wants the case to be attributed to Irv Rubin,'' Diamond said. ``Even without Irv, Mr. Gandara is still a plaintiff, and therefore the case is very much alive and active.'' |
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