7th Circuit: Sheriff Unconstitutionally Endorsed Christian Speakers

In Milwaukee Deputy Sheriff's Association v. Clarke, (7th Cir., Dec. 4, 2009), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Wisconsin sheriff's department violated the Establishment Clause when it invited representatives of the Fellowship of the Christian Centurions, a peer support group for law enforcement officers, to speak at several mandatory employee meetings. The court said:

We do not suggest ... that religiously affiliated groups are always constitutionally barred from working with or speaking to government employees. Rather, we limit our analysis to the facts of this case, where an authority figure invited a Christian organization that engaged in religious proselytizing to speak on numerous occasions at mandatory government employee meetings. A reasonable observer would have been well aware that the Sheriff did not extend such privileges lightly. Most other organizations that received similar access shared a common attribute: the Sheriff had expressed an interest in partnering with them. Indeed, it would be difficult to interpret the Sheriff’s actions as anything other than endorsement.

(See prior related posting.) Yesterday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on the decision.