Louisiana's Unrestricted Funds To 2 Churches Violates Establishment Clause

In American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Louisiana v. Blanco, (ED LA, Oct. 5, 2007), a Louisiana federal district court issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the state from disbursing funds that were appropriated in the state budget bill to two churches without any legislative indication of the purpose for which the funds were being granted. The court said: "The challenged appropriations in this case fall within the core proscription of the Establishment Clause." The court rejected the state's argument that the appropriations were saved from invalidity because an Executive Order issued by the Governor required recipients of earmarked funds to complete a cooperative endeavor agreement describing the public purpose for which the funds will be used. A release by the ACLU praised Judge Vance's decision. (See prior related posting.)