A federal district court in Washington state has dismissed a lawsuit brought by 13 Washington taxpayers alleging that federal grants made to the Northwest Marriage Institute were used to finance religious activities in violation of the Establishment Clause. In Christianson v. Leavitt, (WD WA), March 20, 2007) [available in PACER], the court found that capacity-building grants, and a grant to support a secular marriage workshop, met the requirements of the Lemon test-- and so there were no Establishment Clause violations present. Americans United for Separation of Church and State that represented plaintiffs issued a statement saying it was disappointed in the ruling, but that the court reaffirmed key principles of church-state separation. (See prior related posting.)
UPDATE: The full opinion is now available online, as is defendant's motion to dismiss, thanks to the Christian Newswire (CLS press release). [Thanks to Blog from the Capitol for the lead to this update.]
