Court Employees Sue To Use Jury Room For Bible Study

In San Diego, California yesterday, two Superior Court employees have filed suit to regain the right to use the court's jury room at lunch time for a Bible study group. Christian Newswire reports that court employees Mindy Barlow and Dalia R. Smith were denied permission to use the jury room or an empty court room, even though the Bible group had been meeting for six years using courthouse facilities. The complaint (full text) in Barlow v. Superior Court of California, (SD CA, Oct. 2, 2007) alleges that various First and 14th Amendment rights of plaintiffs have been infringed. It says defendants have permitted non-religious groups to use court facilities for non-court related events or meetings.