This file photo shows the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.Local attorneys expect the U.S. Supreme Court to give a final “amen” to prayers in public meetings after the high court agreed Monday to hear a New York case. Whether that will be an expression of assent or a pronounced ending for government prayer is yet to be seen.
Either way, attorneys Robin Flores and Steve Duggins say the outcome of the case, Town of Greece v. Galloway, will ultimately decide Hamilton County’s own prayer lawsuit.
Flores is representing Thomas Coleman and Brandon Jones, who filed a federal suit in June 2012 to stop prayers before Hamilton County Commission meetings.
Coleman and Jones say the prayers, which are majority Christian, blur the line between church and state.
Duggins is defending the county in the suit, arguing that legislative prayer has been upheld by the nation’s high court.