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Texas
Related: About this forumPrayer to continue in Montgomery County courtroom for now
Hat tip, Health Law360, which is clickbait. They put me on their mailing list, but I can't read their articles without subscribing.
Prayer to continue in Montgomery County courtroom for now
Jose R. Gonzalez, Staff writer
July 12, 2021
Updated: July 13, 2021 2:47 a.m.
Judge Wayne Mack, Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace, presides on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, at the Montgomery County West Annex. Prayers invoked in Macks court may proceed, a federal appeals court has ruled.
Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle
Prayers invoked in Montgomery County Judge Wayne Macks court may proceed, a federal appeals court has ruled. ... The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on Friday permitting a chaplain to pray at the start of Macks misdemeanors and small claims court in Willis as a final decision on the case remains pending.
The ruling comes after U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyts May 21 decision found the practice violated the U.S. Constitutions Establishment Clause, which prohibits the establishment of religion.
The judge has made a strong showing that the district court erred, Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham wrote in the ruling, pointing to the program being voluntary, interfaith, brief and optional.
A Wisconsin-based nonprofit advocating the separation of church and state brought a couple of lawsuits against Mack, asserting he solicits prayer participation from his courtrooms attendees. ... A previous suit was dismissed because it named the state, which is not the county judges employer, as a plaintiff.
{snip}
Serving as Macks defense counsel is the Plano-based nonprofit First Liberty Institute, which describes itself on its website as dedicated exclusively to protecting religious liberty for all Americans. ... The suits plaintiff is the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).
{snip}
jose.gonzalez@chron.com
https://twitter.com/jrgzztx
Written By
Jose R. Gonzalez
Jose R. Gonzalez reports on crime, courts and public safety in Montgomery County, just north of Houston. He has written exclusively on a range of topics, including the arrest and death of a cold case murder suspect, jury trials resulting in life sentences, an inmate's murals at the county jail and COVID-19 concerns among others being confined there. Jose joined the metro desk at the Houston Chronicle at the end of 2017. He worked breaking news and general assignments before landing on the Chronicle's business desk.
He covered the U.S. Congress at two editorial internships in Washington, D.C., one of which was RealClearPolitics. In between, he freelanced for the Chronicle. He is a journalism graduate of Texas State University in San Marcos.
Born in Pasadena, Texas and mostly raised there, Jose as a kid moved a lot with his family. He has lived in all four contiguous time zones.
Jose R. Gonzalez, Staff writer
July 12, 2021
Updated: July 13, 2021 2:47 a.m.
Judge Wayne Mack, Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace, presides on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, at the Montgomery County West Annex. Prayers invoked in Macks court may proceed, a federal appeals court has ruled.
Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle
Prayers invoked in Montgomery County Judge Wayne Macks court may proceed, a federal appeals court has ruled. ... The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on Friday permitting a chaplain to pray at the start of Macks misdemeanors and small claims court in Willis as a final decision on the case remains pending.
The ruling comes after U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyts May 21 decision found the practice violated the U.S. Constitutions Establishment Clause, which prohibits the establishment of religion.
The judge has made a strong showing that the district court erred, Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham wrote in the ruling, pointing to the program being voluntary, interfaith, brief and optional.
A Wisconsin-based nonprofit advocating the separation of church and state brought a couple of lawsuits against Mack, asserting he solicits prayer participation from his courtrooms attendees. ... A previous suit was dismissed because it named the state, which is not the county judges employer, as a plaintiff.
{snip}
Serving as Macks defense counsel is the Plano-based nonprofit First Liberty Institute, which describes itself on its website as dedicated exclusively to protecting religious liberty for all Americans. ... The suits plaintiff is the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).
{snip}
jose.gonzalez@chron.com
https://twitter.com/jrgzztx
Written By
Jose R. Gonzalez
Jose R. Gonzalez reports on crime, courts and public safety in Montgomery County, just north of Houston. He has written exclusively on a range of topics, including the arrest and death of a cold case murder suspect, jury trials resulting in life sentences, an inmate's murals at the county jail and COVID-19 concerns among others being confined there. Jose joined the metro desk at the Houston Chronicle at the end of 2017. He worked breaking news and general assignments before landing on the Chronicle's business desk.
He covered the U.S. Congress at two editorial internships in Washington, D.C., one of which was RealClearPolitics. In between, he freelanced for the Chronicle. He is a journalism graduate of Texas State University in San Marcos.
Born in Pasadena, Texas and mostly raised there, Jose as a kid moved a lot with his family. He has lived in all four contiguous time zones.
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Prayer to continue in Montgomery County courtroom for now (Original Post)
mahatmakanejeeves
Jul 2021
OP
LeftInTX
(24,546 posts)1. Montgomery County is 70% red...It's an old KKK type snake pit
Although it is part of the Houston MSA, it is still very red..
cbabe
(3,440 posts)2. Satanic Temple folk, inshallah.
LetMyPeopleVote
(143,999 posts)3. Montgomery County is a cesspool with two or three active KKK chapters
I wonder which chapter this judge belongs to