The Roanoke Times reports that yesterday a Virginia federal district judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the posting of the Ten Commandments as part of a display in the Giles County, Virginia Public Schools. (See prior posting.) The court said there are too many unknown facts to dismiss the complaint in Doe 1 v. School Board of Giles County at this point. The court also gave the parties 14 days to work out a protective order to protect the identity of the two John Doe plaintiffs-- a student and the student's parent. (See prior posting.)
UPDATE: On Dec. 12, Judge Michael Urbanski signed a protective order to keep the plaintiffs in the case anonymous. According to the Roanoke Times, attorneys for the school board will learn the names of plaintiffs so they can determine issues such as whether the student has standing. However members of the school board will not learn the identity of plaintiffs. The order also bans any harassment, threats or intimidation of plaintiffs. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]
