The Ocala City Council is looking for direction from a Christian legal organization as it continues to navigate a 2014 lawsuit over a prayer vigil that was deemed “unconstitutional.”
On Tuesday, July 2, City Attorney William Sexton provided a brief update on the lawsuit, which was filed by Art Rojas and Lucinda Hale against the city of Ocala.
Last week, United States Middle District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan issued a 50-page decision in favor of the two atheist plaintiffs, saying the city violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by conceiving, organizing, promoting, and conducting the prayer vigil.
“My office continues to communicate regularly with our outside counsel in the matter,” said Sexton during the meeting. “We’re setting up an opportunity for the attorneys at the American Center for Law and Justice to brief counsel direct.”
A date for a briefing has not yet been set.
The American Center for Law and Justice was founded in 1990 to “protect religious and constitutional freedoms” by engaging higher courts on behalf of those facing legal, legislative, and cultural issues. The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
“I will obviously keep you advised as that process moves forward, and I continue to advise against commenting on this pending litigation,” said Sexton on Tuesday.
The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that Congress shall “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
The First Amendment requires a “state to be neutral in its relations with groups of religious believers and non-believers.”
Over the years, the city has argued that the prayer vigil was permissible “because it fits in with other historical examples dating back to George Washington of government and prayer being intertwined, including legislative prayer and proclamations of National Day of Prayer.”
The judge ultimately decided there was no “evidence to support” the city’s argument that it had no responsibility in planning the event.
“There is no evidence to support the city’s argument that the Ocala Police Department employees and staff did not plan the vigil,” reads the judge’s order.
Now, the court will consider an award of attorney’s fees “no later than July 26, 2024,” according to the order.
