11th Circuit Hears Arguments In Sectarian Invocations Case

Yesterday the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in BATS v. Cobb County Georgia, a case challenging the opening of Cobb County, Georgia, County Commission meetings with sectarian prayers. The trial court's decision refused to ban sectarian prayers, so long as a wide variety of clergy were invited to deliver invocations. (See prior posting.) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the 11th Circuit judges questioned ACLU lawyer Daniel Mach on how the county is to distinguish sectarian from non-sectarian prayers. They also questioned how the county could enforce a ban on sectarian content of prayers.