En Banc Rehearing Denied By 9th Circuit In Library Meeting Room Case

Yesterday, by a vote of all the non-recused active judges on the circuit bench, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied an en banc rehearing in Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries v. Glover, (9th Cir., March 9, 2007). Last September in the case, a 3-judge panel, by a vote of 2-1, decided that a Contra Costa County public library could make its meeting room available for "meetings, programs, or activities of educational, cultural or community interest", while excluding their use for "religious services". Yesterday, seven judges dissented from the denial of the rehearing in an opinion written by Judge Bybee. They argued that "the majority has effectively relegated religious worship to an inferior status vis-à-vis community and cultural speech that claims a secular component." They contended that by distinguishing religious worship from other kinds of religious discussions, the library's rule favors those religious groups that make moral teaching an integral part of their worship services, while denying use of the meeting room to liturgical denominations whose services can be characterized as "mere worship". Yesterday's Contra Costa Times reported on the decision.