Hudson v. Pittsylvania County, Virginia et al
Filing
84
PERMANENT INJUNCTION ORDER. Signed by District Judge Michael F. Urbanski on 3/26/13. (ham)
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.
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)
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) Civil Action No. 4:11cv00043
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)
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) By: Michael F. Urbanski
)
United States District Judge
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)
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
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