H/C Bible Update

Harris County Attorney Mike Stafford is now considering his options for appeal. I will try to provide some background on this case.

First, this is Civil Action H-03-3411 before Judge Sim Lake (whom you may recognize as being part of the ENRON - Lay trial). The original plaintiff is Kay Staley, a real estate agent and attorney, and intervenors are Karen Friend, William Drout and Lisa Drout. The defendant is Harris County. Ms. Staley is represented by Randall Lee Kallinen, the intervenors are represented by James Overstreet, and Harris County is represented by Mike Stafford, the Harris County Attorney.

(For those of you outside of Harris County, the County Attorney here represents the county on all civil matters. Criminal prosecutions, both misdemeanor and felony, are handled by the District Attorney.

The bible in question is a King James edition, slightly oversize bible that is in a glass display case lit by Neon lights. It is currently situated about 20 feet from the main entrance (off Fannin St.) to the County Civil Courthouse so that just about anyone leaving the building is forced to look at it. There are no other noticeable monuments on the courthouse grounds (unless you count the newspaper racks).

Judge Lake, after a trial (as much as something like this gets a trial) determined that:

...Harris County has failed the first two elements of the Lemon test. The Bible atop the Mosher monument does not have a secular purpose, and the primary or principal effect of the Bible display is to advance religion. The court therefore concludes that the Bible display violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

I have made Judge Lake's opinion available here. I will leave that up until it becomes a problem.