Pastor Chris Peponis, center right, delivers the opening prayer at the beginning of the Hamilton County Commission meeting Thursday afternoon. The commission meeting was delayed because members of the County Commission were subpoenaed for a hearing in federal court over a challenge to the opening prayers.A federal judge said Thursday he wants to hand down a decision as soon as possible on a motion seeking to halt Hamilton County Commission prayers.
“The community deserves an answer on this,” said Judge Harry S. “Sandy” Mattice. “We need to move forward.”
He left it up to lawyers whether to file supplementary briefs by Aug. 8 on the motion for a preliminary injunction, saying he would rearrange his docket if necessary to rule quickly afterward.
“The jurisprudence in this area, I don’t know that they’ve used the word ‘mess,’ they’ve probably used stronger,” Mattice said. “This is about as emotional as it gets in this nation.”
In June, Tommy Coleman and Brandon Jones sued commissioners over Christian prayers held during regular meetings, arguing the prayers violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause. Later they asked for an injunction to halt the prayers until Mattice rules in the case.