Challenge To Faith-Based Jail Program Moves Ahead

Moeller v. Bradford County, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66613 (MD PA, Aug. 10, 2006), disposed of various preliminary motions in a case challenging the constitutionality of federal, state and local funding of a faith-based vocational training program in the Bradford County (PA) Correctional Facility. The program, operated by the Firm Foundation, is a prison ministry that requires its staff to adhere to Christian beliefs. The program is the only vocational training available to inmates and routinely includes proselytization. Government funds are not limited to the program's secular aspects. A Pennsylvania federal district court held that it will entertain jurisdiction over state constitutional claims for injunctive and declaratory relief. It also held that the plaintiffs' complaint was adequate to give notice of the claims to the defendants and that the complaint adequately states an Establishment Clause claim.