The Christian Newswire carries a press release that begins:
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled that the city council of Fredericksburg, Virginia had proper authority to require “non-sectarian” prayer content and exclude council-member Rev. Hashmel Turner from the prayer rotation because he prayed “in Jesus’ name.”
The opinion is here: Turner v. City Council of the City of Fredericksburg, No. 06-1944 (4th Cir. July 23, 2008).
Former Supreme Court Justice O’Connor sat on the court and authored the opinion joined by Judges Motz and Shedd. The opinion begins:
Appellant Hashmel Turner claims that the Council for the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, violated his First Amendment rights when it implemented a policy beginning in 2005 requiring that legislative prayers be nondenominational. Because the prayers at issue here are government speech, we hold that Fredericksburg’s prayer policy does not violate Turner’s Free Speech and Free Exercise rights. Likewise, the requirement that the prayers be nondenominational does not violate the Establishment Clause.
