Hudson v. Pittsylvania County, Virginia et al

Filing 84

PERMANENT INJUNCTION ORDER. Signed by District Judge Michael F. Urbanski on 3/26/13. (ham)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA DANVILLE DIVISION BARBARA HUDSON, Plaintiff, v. PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VIRGINIA and BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VIRGINIA, Defendants. ) ) ) ) Civil Action No. 4:11cv00043 ) ) ) ) By: Michael F. Urbanski ) United States District Judge ) ) PERMANENT INJUNCTION ORDER In accordance with the Memorandum Opinion entered this day, it is hereby ORDERED that the Board of Supervisors of Pittsylvania County is ENJOINED from repeatedly opening its meetings with prayers associated with any one religion, which practice has the unconstitutional “effect of affiliating the government with any one specific faith or belief.” County of Allegheny v. ACLU Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, 492 U.S. 573, 603 (1989) (citing Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783, 794-95 (1983)); accord Wynne v. Town of Great Falls, 376 F.3d 292, 302 (4th Cir. 2004), cert. denied, 545 U.S. 1152 (2005) (approving injunction prohibiting Town Council “from invoking the name of a specific deity associated with any one specific faith in prayers given at Town Council meetings”). This injunction does not preclude the Board from beginning its meetings with a prayer or invocation that does not run afoul of the Establishment Clause. The Board may choose to open its meetings with a prayer or invocation, but in doing so it “must strive to be nondenominational so long as that is reasonably possible – it should send a signal of welcome rather than exclusion. It should not reject the tenets of other faiths in favor of just one.” Joyner v. Forsyth County, 653 F.3d 341, 349 (4th Cir. 2011), cert. denied, 132 S. Ct. 1097 (2012). The court will retain jurisdiction over this matter for the purposes of enforcement of the injunction and consideration of any motions for attorney’s fees and costs by plaintiff Barbara Hudson, the prevailing party, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988. Entered: March 26, 2013 /s/ Michael F. Urbanski Michael F. Urbanski United States District Judge 2

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