Earlier ruling went against town of Great Falls
BY MICHAEL GARTLAND
Of The Post and Courier Staff
The Wiccan high priestess who sued her town council for invoking Jesus' name before meetings won another battle in her ongoing legal struggle Wednesday.
Darla Wynne was elated by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision not to rehear an appeal of her case, but she expects the Great Falls Town Council to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for another hearing.
"We're very excited," Wynne said. "This has gone on for so long."
The 4th Circuit Court ruled Wednesday that the entire court would not rehear an appeal from the town of Great Falls. In July, a three-judge panel from the court ruled in Wynne's favor, prompting the town to make this most recent appeal to all 14 judges.
The decision not to rehear the case reinforces earlier rulings that prevent sectarian prayer at government meetings in the 4th circuit, which encompasses South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. Prayer before such meetings has been a tradition in America since the nation's founding.
Wynne, a practitioner of the neo-pagan, earth-based Wiccan religion, sued the town in 2001 for praying to Jesus before meetings. She maintained that the prayers were intended to ostracize her from the community.
Brian Gibbons, the town's lawyer, said the council most likely would decide at its Nov. 15 meeting whether to petition the Supreme Court. "The town's considering our options," he said. "We have a while to determine whether or not to take it to the next level."
The town of Great Falls has three months to file a petition with the Supreme Court.
Law professors think it's unlikely that the court will hear the case. Eldon Wedlock, who specializes in constitutional law at the University of South Carolina, said the Constitution does not allow for specific religious references at government meetings.
"The Supreme Court's got a pretty full plate. Usually, they don't take cases where the lower court got it right," Wedlock said. "The Town Council attorney might file a petition, but I think they're wasting their time and money."
Gibbons was more optimistic.
"You never know what cases the Supreme Court is going to take," he said. "Sometimes the Supreme Court surprises people."
Click here to return to story:
http://www.charleston.net/stories/110404/loc_04wiccan.shtml