Suit Challenges Maryland County's Invocation Policy At Commissioners' Meetings

A lawsuit was filed today in a Maryland federal district court by two residents of Carroll County (MD) challenging the County’s practice of regularly opening the public meetings of its Board of Commissioners with official Commissioner-delivered sectarian prayers.  The complaint (full text) in Hake v. Carroll County, Maryland, (D MD, filed 5/1/2013) alleges that during 2011 and 2012, some 54 Board of Commissioners meetings were opened with prayers that included specifically Christian references, while none of the prayers delivered during that period mentioned non-Christian deities.  The suit seeks a declaratory judgment that this violates the Establishment Clause and asks for an injunction against further sectarian prayers at Board meetings. The American Humanist Association announced the filing of the lawsuit.