U.S. District Judge William M. Conley in Madison, WI dismissed a lawsuit to remove mentions of The Almighty in the Capitol Visitor Center filed by the atheist Freedom From Religion Foundation due to a lack of legal standing to sue.
-- From "ACLJ 'Extremely Pleased' Federal Court Rejects Lawsuit Challenging National Motto and Pledge of Allegiance Displays at Capitol Visitor Center" posted at Sun Herald (Gulfport/Biloxi, MS) 9/30/10
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) . . . representing 50 members of Congress, filed an amicus brief in the case asking the court to reject the suit saying it "borders on frivolous" and serves no purpose other "than to waste judicial resources."
In an opinion issued yesterday by the U.S. District Court in Madison, Wisconsin, the court dismissed the suit and concluded that the plaintiffs failed to establish standing in the case.
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From "Federal Court Rejects Atheist Lawsuit Challenging National Motto and Pledge of Allegiance Displays at Capitol Visitor Center" by Pete Winn, CNSNews.com 10/1/10
The judge noted that under prior Supreme Court precedents, taxpayers can only bring legal challenges for perceived injuries if the injuries are directly tied to specific appropriations by Congress.
Conley did not rule on the merits of the legal challenge or whether the National Motto and Pledge were constitutional.
The Madison, Wis.-based Freedom From Religion Foundation will be re-filing the lawsuit, according to the group’s president, Annie Laurie Gaylor.
“We did not lose on the merits, it’s procedural. And the merits we want to address, because the administration did write a brief on the merits and it’s just full of distorted history and the distorted perception of the separation of church and state that is required by our Constitution.”
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