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October 21, 2004 Victory for Teachers in the Public Schools This week, following Liberty Counsel’s unanimous appeals court victory, elementary public school teacher, Barbara Wigg, taught her elementary school pupils about math, science, and reading comprehension, but after the last bell, she walked down the hall and taught from the Bible in the after-school Good News Club. In the first decision of its kind in the country, a federal court of appeals ruled that public school teachers have the right to participate in the Good News Club immediately after school on the same campus where they teach during the day. Good News Clubs are sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship and are after-school Bible clubs which teach, among other things, morals and character development from a Christian perspective. On Monday, the Sioux Falls newspaper, the Argus-Leader, reported that Mrs. Wigg taught nine children about how God created the world, “You are a part of God’s special creation” she told the children. While the legal battle was long and arduous, the ruling set a precedent that public school teachers should not be denied their Constitutional right of free exercise of religion. Perhaps the heart of this case can be summed up by fifth-grader Danielle Walker, who attended the first Good News Club meeting: “I think she [Barbara Wigg]should be able to teach after school. It’s her free time...It’s fun, and we get to learn more about God.” We are pleased that teachers, as well as these children, now have the freedom to teach and learn about God on public school campuses. United States Supreme Court’s Grant of Review Causes Media Blitz regarding Liberty Counsel’s Ten Commandments Case On Tuesday, October 12th, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Liberty Counsel’s Kentucky Ten Commandments case, which will likely be the biggest church/state case in decades. The High Court granted Liberty Counsel’s request to review McCreary County v. ACLU, a case involving the constitutionality of public displays of the Ten Commandments in McCreary and Pulaski Counties. In less than 24 hours after the Court decision to review the cases, over 600 articles appeared in print about the case and the articles continue to mount. I juggled phones in both hands most of the day and appeared on ABC’s World New Tonight with Peter Jennings as well as MSNBC’s The Abram’s Report to debate Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU. Phones at Liberty Counsel were ringing off the hook as I and the legal team at Liberty Counsel fielded calls from reporters across the country. CNN’s Headline News, Fox News and scores of other television and news sources reported on the story throughout the day. The story was on the front page of USA Today. It is no surprise that the media gravitated to this case as this case will likely affect every single church-state case for the next generation. History is at stake in this case. Will we be a nation that remembers our religious heritage or will we be forced to forget that heritage and be prohibited from passing that heritage on to our children and grandchildren? If the ACLU has its way, historical revision rather than the rule of law would govern our land. This case will not only affect every Ten Commandments display in the country, but it will also affect future application of the church-state provision of the First Amendment, known as the Establishment Clause. The High Court has agreed to re-visit its approach to the Establishment Clause. I will talk about this historic development next week. In the meantime, I and our legal team are spending long hours preparing for this case. Our first brief is due after Thanksgiving and oral argument will be set for sometime in February.
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Make a tax-deductible online donation to this ministry Liberty Counsel, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family. On the campus of Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Virginia, Liberty Counsel's Center for Constitutional Litigation and Policy trains attorneys, law students, policymakers, legislators, clergy and world leaders in constitutional principles and government policies. Mathew
D. Staver, Esq. Restoring
the culture one case at a time by advancing religious freedom, the sanctity
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