Trial Court Erred In Allowing Police To Remove Pastor At Request of Dissident Group

As reported by the Colorado Springs Gazette, in St. John’s Baptist Church Governing Body v. Sutton a Colorado state court of appeals on Thursday held that a state trial court judge acted improperly when he issued an order allowing police to remove a pastor from his pulpit.  The order came at the request of a dissident group in St. John's Baptist Church which formed a separate Governing Board in 2011 and ordered the pastor out. The Court of Appeals said in part:

The [trial] court made a decision regarding ecclesiastical internal governance and organization; it determined for the church who represented its interest, a governing decision belonging only to the church.

The Court of Appeals said that ownership of the church's property should be determined by the trial court through an examination of  deeds, articles of incorporation, bylaws and other documents. (Note: because of policies of the Colorado Court of Appeals, the full text of its unpublished opinions may not be posted on any electronic database.)