RICHMOND, Va., July 28, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Yesterday evening, Liberty Institute, along with nationally
recognized Liberty Institute volunteer attorney Allyson Ho, filed a brief at the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in the case of Lund v. Rowan
County, defending the right of the Rowan County commissioners
to open their meetings in prayer. (Read about Allyson Ho below.) A copy of the brief may
be viewed here: https://www.libertyinstitute.org/rowan.
For many years, the Rowan County Commissioners opened their
meetings with an invocation. They allowed each commissioner, on a
rotating basis, an opportunity to offer an invocation or lead a
moment of silence. In March 2013,
three Rowan County residents, represented by the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit, objecting to the
invocations. While the lawsuit was pending, the Supreme Court ruled
in Greece v. Galloway that governmental bodies may open
their meetings in prayer without violating the Establishment Clause
– including prayers with specific religious references. See
opinion:
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-696_bpm1.pdf
Hiram Sasser, Deputy Chief
Counsel for Liberty Institute "We are honored that someone of
Allyson Ho's reputation and
accomplishment is leading this appeal for our client. Her extensive
experience before the United States Supreme Court is impressive and
extremely helpful on this issue."
Ms. Ho is nationally recognized as a "superstar appellate
lawyer" as noted in Chambers and Partners. After earning a
Ph.D. from Rice University and a J.D.
from University of Chicago Law School,
Ms. Ho clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and currently serves on the
bipartisan Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee. She has litigated
cases in every federal court of appeals and is the only female
attorney to argue two cases before the Supreme Court in the in 2014
term.
Allyson Ho, Liberty Institute,
The Gibbs Law Firm and Alliance Defending Freedom represent Rowan
County on the appeal.
About Liberty Institute
Liberty Institute is the largest nonprofit legal organization in
the nation dedicated solely to defending religious liberty in
America. Liberty Institute protects freedom of religious expression
in our military, schools, churches, and throughout the public
arena. For more information, visit www.LibertyInstitute.org.
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SOURCE Liberty Institute