Hamilton County commissioners pray during an invocation at an agenda session on June 13, 2013.A U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding primarily Christian prayers at the start of town council meetings could have implications nationwide.
Here, officials said the court’s 5-4 decision Monday in favor of Greece, N.Y., reinforces the Hamilton County Commission’s prayer policy that has been legally debated for nearly two years.
“We’ve all been waiting for this decision,” said Steve Duggins, who is defending the county in a federal lawsuit over the prayers here. “We’re certainly encouraged.”
But Robin Flores, representing Thomas Coleman and Brandon Jones, who filed the suit in June 2012 seeking to stop prayers before commission meetings, said it’s too soon to tell whether this lawsuit loses its merit in light of the highest court’s decision.
“The ruling doesn’t seem to give much guidance as to what challenges could be raised,” Flores said. “The lawsuit is pending now; it isn’t dead in the water.”