Local church/state conflicts

Invocations at the Great Falls,
SC town council meeting

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2003-2005: Prayers at the Great Falls, SC town council meetings:

According to HeraldOnline:

"Darla Kaye Wynne, a Wiccan high priestess, sued the town [in 2001] after its leaders refused to open meetings only with nonsectarian prayers or to allow members of different faiths to lead the prayers. Wynne claimed she was ostracized for refusing to stand and bow her head during the Christian prayers."

U.S. District Court rules in favor of Darla Wynne:

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan ruled in 2003-AUG that the prayers violated the First Amendment's establishment clause. That decision was later upheld by the appeals court, who cited a number of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that determined that government bodies may only use generic prayers; prayers specific to a single religion are unconstitutional.

4th U.S. District Court of Appeals rules in favor of Darla Wynne:

The town council voted unanimously to appeal the decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster filed an Amicus Curia (Friend of the Court) brief in support of Great Falls. A three-judge panel of the Court rejected their appeal on 2004-JUL-22. The judges unanimously agreed that the town council's prayers consisted of unconstitutional advancement of a single religion -- Christianity.

Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote:

"Public officials' brief invocations of the Almighty before engaging in public business have always....been part of our nation's history. The Town Council of Great Falls remains free to engage in such invocations prior to council meetings. The opportunity to do so may provide a source of strength to believers, and a time of quiet reflection for all....This opportunity does not, however, provide the Town Council, or any other legislative body, license to advance its own religious views in preference to all others, as the Town Council did here." The court prohibited the council from using the "...name of a specific deity associated with any one specific faith or belief in prayers given at town council meetings." Prayers at the Great Falls Council have not referred to Jesus Christ since that decision.  _1,2

"TG" the administrator of "the world's largest prayer board" on a Fundamentalist Christian web site Annointed.net posted a review of the court ruling. Under the heading: "We must pray this judge who supports satan worshipers over us off the court" he quoted part of Circuit Judge Diana Motz's decision as: "Darla Kaye Wynne a satan worshiper brought this suit to prohibit the Town Council of Great Falls, South Carolina from engaging in prayers that specifically invoke Jesus Christ during monthly council meetings." ₃ There are at least four problems with this quotation.

1. The judge did not write that. The actual court decision reads "Darla Kaye Wynne brought this suit..." "Satan" does not appear anywhere in the text. ₂

2. Darla Wynne is a Wiccan, and thus neither recognizes the existence of Satan nor worships him.

3. "Satan" is a proper name and thus should be capitalized.

4. The phrase "a satan worshiper" should be separated from the rest of the text with commas.

There were two replies to the posting on the prayer board. Both pointed out the misquote. But the misquote has remained on the board, uncorrected.

Appeal to the full Court of Appeals

The full court refused to review the decision of its three-judge panel. This confirmed the panel's decision.

Andrew Siegel, an assistant professor of law at the University of South Carolina School of Law, says said that, unless modified, the ruling applies to all government meetings in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. Barry Lynn, spokesperson for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said that other councils may face expensive lawsuits if they continue giving sectarian prayers. ₄

Appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court:

The Council then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On 2005-JUN-28, the Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal. The decision of the full U.S. Fourth Circuit Court stands throughout the five state area.

Some responses to the Supreme Court decision:

Wynne's lawyer has asked Great Falls to pay $65,491 in legal fees. The town's own fees of $24,375 have been covered by insurance. _5,6,7

On 2005-SEP-15, the U.S. District Court for South Carolina found that Wynne "...is entitled to an award of costs and expenses in the amount of $1,791.91 and fees in the amount of $53,082.50 with fees and costs to be assessed jointly against all Defendants in their official capacity only." Thus, the town will have to pay costs, expenses, and fees, not the individual politicians. ₈

The town is fortunate that Ms. Wynne only asked for injunctive relief only plus actual costs and expenses. If she had asked that the defendants pay a penalty for their violation of law, the town would have had to pay out additional funds.

Related essay

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. "Appeals court upholds religious ruling. Town council meetings cannot open with mention of Jesus, judges say," Herald Online, 2004-JUL-23, at: http://www.heraldonline.com/
2. Text of the ruling by the three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals is online at: http://pacer.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinion.pdf/032069.P.pdf
3. J.G. "Appeals court rules South Carolina City council prayers unconstitutional," Annointed.net prayer board, 2004-JUL-22, at: http://www.annointed.net/
4. "Court refuses to hear Great Falls appeal on use of 'Jesus Christ' in council prayers," Associated Press, 2004-NOV-04, at: http://www.wistv.com/
5. Andrew Dys, "Town won't put 'Jesus' in prayers. Wiccan's suit to keep words out of Great Falls council's pre-meeting prayer upheld," The Herald (Rock Hill, SC), 2005-JUN-30, at: http://www.heraldonline.com/
6. Denyse Clark, "Great Falls prayer battle garners support of town. Wynne says she's getting silent treatment after court ruling," The Herald (Rock Hill, SC), 2005-JUN-30, at: http://www.heraldonline.com/
7. Personal communication from Darla Kaye Wynne.
8. Cameron McGowan Currie, "Opinion and order awarding fees, costs and expenses," U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Rock Hill Division, 2005-SEP-15.

Copyright © 2003 to 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Original publishing date: 2003-JAN-14
Latest update: 2005-SEP-19. Reformatted 2010-JAN-15
Author: B.A. Robinson

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