ACLU Loses in Quran Case
Posted on December 9, 2005
Hat tip: Opinion Bug
A North Carolina judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the ACLU. The ACLU had filed the lawsuit on behalf of Syidah Mateen who says she was prohibited from swearing on the Qur’an during a 2003 court hearing:
WRAL
A judge threw out an ACLU lawsuit aimed at allowing the use of non-Christian religious texts in courtroom oaths, saying the civil liberties group had no active case to argue.Superior Court Judge Donald Smith, who is based in Raleigh, revealed his decision to lawyers in the case on Thursday. A written ruling was to follow.
The North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued in Guilford County in July, saying it was acting on behalf of members statewide who prefer to swear courtroom oaths on religious texts other than the Bible.
No specific plaintiff was named in the original filing, and the ACLU added the name of Greensboro Muslim Syidah Mateen only after the suit had been filed, saying she was blocked from swearing an oath on the Quran during a 2003 court hearing.
Smith tossed out the case because there is no active controversy involving someone prohibited from using a text other than a Bible, ACLU lawyer Seth Cohen said Thursday.
“Of course, we’re very disappointed the judge did not reach the merits,” Cohen said. “We do believe there’s a case.”
He said he would consult with the state ACLU and its board about whether to appeal the decision or await a future opportunity to bring a fresh suit.
I’m divided on this one. I see the ACLU’s point, I really do. My only question is how wide it opens the door? Should just any kook religious text, and there are many of them, be allowed in the Court as a legitimate means of taking an Oath? How about the Satanic Bible? This one is an interesting debate. One that probably should be discussed in the Courts. Expect the ACLU to appeal this one.
» Filed Under Church And State, News
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5 Responses to “ACLU Loses in Quran Case”
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I don’t expect them to appeal, but they will be watching closely for an opportunity to bring this suit again.
Question: If the text one wishes to swear on is the Satanic Bible, and that book says it is OK to lie, does one hold to the oath to tell the truth? Or do they hold to their religion and lie?
Outstanding! Funny what happens when a court outside of the Ninth Circuit rules on sacred American traditions.
Actually, Christians are not supposed to SWEAR oathes.
Christians are supposed to swear oaths, Jesus’ sayings being taken out of context. Otherwise, every marriage in Christianity was based on a sin.
l read romance books, if l ever had to swear on a book, l will use a romance book in a court of law, just joking. this is america people, we are inclusive by all means, but we can’t change all the rules in the middle of the game, heck we can’t change no rules in the middle of any game. this is america people, america, not the mid east.