Supreme Court Rejects Appeal on VMI Supper Prayers
The superintendent of the VMI tried to get the High Court to revisit its decision on not allowing prayer before supper at the military institute, however, the court refused to the appeal.
bq.. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A divided U.S. Supreme Court let stand on Monday a ruling that reading a prayer before supper to Virginia Military Institute cadets violated the constitutionally required separation of church and state.
The court rejected an appeal by a current and former superintendent at the nation’s oldest military college defending as constitutional the tradition of offering a brief, nondenominational prayer before the evening meal.
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a dissent that Chief Justice William Rehnquist joined. Scalia, a conservative who supports government accommodation of religion, said the appeal raised “weighty questions” that “deserve this court’s attention.”
Although Scalia and Rehnquist wanted to review the case, it takes four votes for the court to hear an appeal.
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p(small). Source: ABC News© 2004 ABCNEWS Internet Ventures
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Filed under: Church and State
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