[Vision2020] 08-24-04 Breaking CNN: School loses prayer appeal

[Art Deco aka W. Fox]

School loses prayer appeal

Court: Prayer injunction must be broader
Tuesday, August 24, 2004 Posted: 1:45 PM EDT (1745 GMT)


LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) -- A school district may not offer prayers at
mandatory staff meetings, regardless of whether the teacher who complained about
them is present, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the U.S. District Court in Little
Rock was right to issue an injunction against prayers during staff meetings at
the DeValls Bluff School District, but did so for the wrong reasons.

The St. Louis-based appeals court said an injunction benefiting Steve Warnock,
an art teacher and school bus driver, should have been granted because the
DeValls Bluff School District endorsed a religion -- not just because Warnock
was offended.

"We believe that prayers at mandatory teacher meetings and in-service training
conveys ... a decisive endorsement," the appeals court wrote.

"It is the government's endorsement of a particular religious message that
constitutes the constitutional violation here, not the effects of official
prayers on Mr. Warnock's psyche," the court wrote.

Warnock sued the district in 1999, saying it openly promoted Christianity and
that district officials harassed him.

The appeals court did agree that that Superintendent Charles Archer, teachers
and students could wear religious jewelry and T-shirts under First Amendment
rights to free speech and free exercise.

The appeals court upheld a $1,000 award to Warnock -- rejecting the teacher's
claim that he should receive more money because he was harassed after
complaining. It said other "perceived slights and personal fears" did not rise
to a constitutional violation.
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