FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
August 6, 2013
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
Page 1 of 1
AG STRANGE JOINS AMICUS BRIEF
IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATIVE PRAYER
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange joined 22 other attorneys
general in filing an amicus brief in Town of Greece, N.Y. v. Galloway, asking the U.S.
Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling that legislative prayer at the
beginning of a government assembly violates the Establishment Clause.
Thirty years ago, in Marsh v. Chambers, the Supreme Court upheld the practice of
opening legislative sessions with prayer. The Court noted that legislative prayer is “part
of the fabric of our society,” with an “unambiguous and unbroken history” dating back
to the First Congress. The amicus brief asks the Court to reaffirm this holding, and also
to clarify that the Constitution does not require state and local governments to screen
the prayers for sectarian references.
“Alabama, like the rest of the nation, has a long history of opening legislative
sessions with prayer,” Strange said. “I am proud to join this brief urging the Supreme
Court to continue to protect this important tradition.”
Attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,
Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska,
Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia
also joined the amicus brief.
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501 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104 (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
