Moment of Silence Law Upheld!

On Friday, October 15, 2010, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the mandatory Illinois”Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act” passes constitutional muster.

Circuit Court Judges Kenneth F. Ripple and Daniel A. Manion overturned U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman’s previous judgment that Section I of the act violated both the Establishment and Due Process clauses of the Constitution.

In 2007, Section I of the decades old “Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act” was amended to make the moment of silent reflection mandatory in public schools. This moment of silence, which was as brief as seven seconds in some schools, was intended to be “an opportunity for silent prayer or for silent reflection on the anticipated activities of the day.”

But the thought of public schools providing even seven-seconds during which students could pray was too much for inveterate atheist Rob Sherman who, through his daughter, sued State Superintendent of Education, Christopher Koch, and Township High School District 214, alleging that Section I of the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act violated the Constitution.

Judge Gettleman granted a summary judgment in favor of the Shermans, and On Feb. 20, 2009, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan appealed this ruling to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, stating that “laws requiring a moment of silence have been found constitutional in other states,” and that “the legislature debated this issue and, by an overwhelming majority, voted to enact this law (the Senate voted to enact this law by a vote of 58-1 and the House by a vote of 86-26).”

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) filed an amicus curiae (i.e. “friend of the court”) brief, in this case on behalf of IFI. We would like to thank the ADF for their excellent work, and congratulate them and Attorney General Lisa Madigan on this victory.

The Illinois Family Institute (IFI) supported the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act, believing the legislation constitutes an affirmative step toward recognizing religious freedom in the public square which is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

And we are thankful for the wise decision of Judges Ripple and Manion which stands in stark contrast to some deeply troubling recent court decisions that exposed both the judicial activism and poor constitutional thinking that plague our courts.

Read more:

ADF’s Press Release on this victory

Lisa Madigan Appeals Moment of Silence Ruling by IFI’s Laurie Higgins