LIBERAL JUDGES ARE NOT RULING ACCORDING TO U.S. CONSTITUTION

TMLC to Appeal Controversial 9th Circuit Appeals Decision Outlawing Classroom Banners Mentioning “God.”

September 19, 2011

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center announced today that it will petition for an en banc review of the controversial Ninth Circuit Court 3-judge panel decision that overturned a lower court decision, which had upheld the right of a school teacher to display patriotic banners in his classroom that mentioned God.

The phrase “en banc” refers to the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In this case, the entire eligible voting membership of the Ninth Circuit will determine if the en banc petition should be granted. If the petition is granted, eleven circuit judges will be selected to rehear the appeal.

For more than twenty-five years, Brad Johnson, a high school math teacher at the Poway Unified School District in San Diego, CA, displayed large red, white and blue banners in his classroom that mention God. The banners contain patriotic phrases such as: “In God We Trust, ” “One Nation Under God, ” and “God Bless America.”

However, in 2007 school officials ordered the banners removed because they promoted a “Judeo-Christian” viewpoint.

Astonishingly, the officials left untouched classroom displays by other teachers that included Dalai Lama and Malcom X posters, Tibetan prayer flags, anti-religious song lyrics, and gay and lesbian promotional materials.

As a result, the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed a federal lawsuit against the school district on behalf of Johnson. The case is being handled by Rob Muise, the Law Center’s Senior Trial Counsel.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, “The three-judge panel’s rationale in allowing the Tibetan Prayer Flags and references to other religions while outlawing America’s patriotic slogans that mention God is troubling and unconvincing. Brad Johnson was simply exercising his free speech rights regarding the religious foundations of our Nation.”

Said Thompson, “This is another example of hostility towards Christianity and attempts by public schools to cleanse our Nation’s classrooms of our religious heritage while promoting atheism and other religions under the guise of cultural diversity.”