Plaintiffs File Motion for Discretionary Review

Edwin Kagin defends the constitution.

American Atheists and the individual plaintiffs have filed a Motion for Discretionary Review by the Kentucky Supreme Court. The text of the motion may be read here: KOHS Motion for Discretionary Review

Appeals Court Denies Amicus Curiae Oral Arguments

Senior Judge Anne O'Malley Shake, sitting as Special Judge by assignment of the Chief Justice

The Kentucky Court of Appeals has collectively denied the motions of a

Judge Thomas Wine, KY Court of Appeals

variety of Amicus Curiae (Friends of the Court) to present oral arguments in the appeal. 

The ACLU is the only Amicus Curiae supporting American Atheists. Amicus Curiae supporting the state include lawyers for 35 state senators, lawyers for 96 state representatives, and the Family Trust Foundation of Kentucky.  This ruling means that these parties will not be permitted to present oral arguments.

This ruling will prevent Ex-Judge Roy Moore from arguing for the senators. Roy Moore is best known for being removed from the Alabama Supreme Court

Judge Laurance VanMeter, KY Court of Appeals

for ethics violations. Moore installed a 5280 pound granite monument to the 10 commandments in the Alabama Supreme Court rotunda.  He refused to follow the orders of federal judges to remove the monument. Moore also wrote the original draft of the Constitutional Restoration Act in 2004. This bill would have limited the power of the federal judiciary in religious liberty cases, and it would have required the impeachment and filing of criminal charges against federal judges who

ruled for separation of church and state.   Moore’s Foundation for Moral Law hosted the 2010 Alabama Secession Day commemoration, which included many speakers with ties to the League of the South and described as neo-Confederates by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

 

 

Oral Arguments Set for KY Court of Appeals

Kentucky Court of Appeals

On January 8, 2011, American Atheists National Legal Director Edwin Kagin received an order from the Kentucky Court of Appeals setting oral arguments in the Kentucky Homeland Security lawsuit for February 24, 2011, 10:45 AM at Court of Appeals Courtroom, 360 Democrat Drive, Frankfort, KY.

The members of the three judge panel assigned to hear and rule on this case are:
Hon. Ann Shake
Hon. Laurance VanMeter
Hon. Thomas Wine

Plaintiffs are encouraged to be present for the oral arguments.

ReligiousTolerance.Org Sides with American Atheists

The First Amendment

The website ReligiousTolerance.Org has a history of the American Atheist suit against the KY Homeland Security law. The site provides background information, links to media sources, and some analysis, including the following quote:

These laws are obviously in conflict with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and thus are unconstitutional. It has the state teaching not only that God exists, but that it is Yahweh mentioned in the Bible. During their oath of office, each of the legislators promised to follow the state and federal Constitutions. However, there were apparently sufficient legislators willing to violate their oath of office and pass the bill.

The website quotes Edwin Kagin, the National Legal Director for American Atheists, Ed Buckner, former American Atheists President, and State Rep. Tom Riner (D-Louisville), who is also a Baptist minister.

Atheist Plaintiffs File Counterstatement

Edwin Kagin, National Legal Council for American Atheists

Edwin Kagin, National Legal Council for American Atheists, has filed a counterstatement in the Kentucky Homeland Security lawsuit. Click on the links below to view the counterstatement.

Counterstatement Submission Cover Letter

Counterstatement Filed 23 August 2010

Alabama 10 Commandments Ex-Judge Asks To Join Amici Senators

Roy Moore, ex-justice of the Alabama Supreme Court

Roy Moore’s 5280 pound monument to the 10 Commandments.

 

Motion to admit Roy Moore, ex-Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.

 

The lawyer for the 35 Kentucky state senators who wrote an Amicus Brief has petitioned that Alabama Supreme Court ex-Justice Roy Moore be permitted to participate in the preparation of briefs and oral arguments in support of the Amici.

Ex-Justice Moore is most famous for installing a 5280 pound monument of the 10 Commandments in the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court on July 31, 2001, only six months after he was elected to the Supreme Court. The monument was ordered removed by the federal courts. It was moved to a side room on August 27, 2003, and removed completely on July 19, 2004.

The Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics held a hearing on Judge Moore on November 12, 2003. Moore proudly proclaimed that he would continue to violate the orders of the federal court.  The next day the Canons of Judicial Ethics voted unanimously to remove Moore from office for refusing to follow the orders of the federal courts.

Moore also wrote the original draft of the Constitution Restoration Act, which was first introduced into the U.S. House and Senate in 2004. This bill would have limited the power of the federal judiciary in religious liberty cases, and it would have required the impeachment and filing of criminal charges against federal judges who ruled for separation of church and state. 

The Constitution Restoration Act was part of a continuous attempt by Dominionist Christians to turn America into a theocracy, by seeking to  limit the power of the federal judiciary in religious liberty cases. This act attempted to  “restore” the Constitution, as interpreted by religious extremists.  This act also made the false claim that the founding fathers promoted a Christian nation instead of protecting freedom of religious conscience for all Americans.

State Representatives and Senators File Amici Briefs

Amicus Brief of state representatives and senators are linked below. I have only skimmed them.  They basically both claim that the laws do not establish a state religion and therefore do not violate the first amendment. They also claim the plaintiffs do not have standing since we were not really harmed or coerced (ignoring that government officials are coerced). They also want the phrase “fanatics, traitors, or fools” stricken from the records.
 

Kentucky State Representatives’ Motion to File Amicus Brief

Brief of Amicus Curiae Ninety-Six Kentucky State Representatives

Kentucky State Senators’ Motion to File Amicus Brief

Brief of Amicus Curiae Thirty-Five Kentucky State Senators

ACLU Amicus Brief

Below are links to an Amicus (friend of the court) brief from the ACLU.  I have not read them in detail.

The image processing software led to many typographical errors in the online document that were not present in the original document. Therefore, I have updated the ACLU documents.

ACLU’s Motion to file Amicus Brief

Brief of Amicus Curiae ACLU

State’s Appeal Brief is Very Brief

The Commonwealth of Kentucky has filed a brief in their appeal of the Kentucky Homeland Security lawsuit. The word brief could be used as both a noun and adjective, since the brief itself was only 9 pages long!  Readers of this blog can view this brief by clicking on the link below.

Appellants Brief body in electronic format

Motion to Dismiss Video now Online

The legal arguments of the Motion to Dismiss the Kentucky Homeland Security lawsuit is now available online at 

http://www.vimeo.com/7258475.