DANVILLE, Va. — Attempts to settle a legal conflict between a Southside Virginia county board of supervisors and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia over Christian prayers at the beginning of supervisors’ meetings apparently failed Feb. 21, according to the Danville (Va.) Register & Bee.
That means the case likely will return to U.S. District Court in Roanoke, where it began, for final judgment.
Pittsylvania County supervisors meet in a building adjacent to the Greek Revival courthouse, built in 1853.
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In September 2011, the Virginia ACLU sued Pittsylvania County’s board of supervisors, who regularly opened their meetings with Christian prayers. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Pittsylvania County resident who said the prayers suggested to non-Christian residents “the message that they are not welcome at board meetings.”
A year later, after hearing requests for summary judgment, U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski agreed to allow the board and the ACLU to resolve their conflict through mediation, a process they began last fall. But a December 2012 news conference expected to announce a settlement was abruptly cancelled and since then both parties have declined to comment.
Bill Stanley, the board’s attorney, told the Register & Bee that mediation failed because supervisors were unable to secure assurances that the ACLU would file no more lawsuits against the county. But in an email, county attorney Vaden Hunt disagreed with that assertion, though he declined to elaborate. Hunt did affirm the lawsuit will return to Urbanski’s courtroom.
For several months after the lawsuit was filed Pittsylvania’s board of supervisors continued to open sessions with Christian prayers. But in February 2012 Urbanski issued a preliminary injunction ordering the board to end the practice pending the case’s outcome.
Since then, supervisors have begun with a moment of silence, and allowed Christian ministers to lead prayers during the portion of their meetings in which citizens are given opportunities to speak.
Robert Dilday (rdilday@religiousherald.org) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.