Fifth Circuit allows chaplain-led courtroom prayers to continue after being ruled unconstitutional
July 14, 2021 | Texas
A federal appeals court sided with a Texas justice of the peace last week, allowing him to continue chaplain-led invocations before state court hearings while the lawsuit against him is adjudicated after his courtroom prayer tradition was ruled unconstitutional by a lower court.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a stay that permits Montgomery County Justice of the Peace Judge Wayne Mack to continue offering chaplain-led invocations at the beginning of his court sessions.
(At issue is whether Mack is entitled to a stay pending appeal after U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt ruled in May that the tradition of having volunteer chaplains perform courtroom prayers violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. …
(Excerpts from the Christian Post)
