Legal Victory for FFRF--Indiana Drops Chaplain Post

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Legal Victory for FFRF--Indiana Drops Chaplain Post

Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit

Freedom From Religion Foundation

http://ffrf.org/news/2007/INvictory.php

Legal Victory for FFRF--Indiana Drops Chaplain Post

As a Result of FFRF's Federal Lawsuit

(Madison, Wis.) The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a state/church

watchdog, has ended a major First Amendment violation in Indiana this

week. In May, the Foundation challenged an unprecedented chaplaincy

post devoted to ministering to staff of a state department. The lawsuit

was dropped this week following assurance from the State of Indiana

that the position had ended and the chaplain was off state payroll.

Rev. Michael Latham was hired last year to "encourage a faithful

environment in the workplace," in the words of his state job

description. Advertised as the first such public position in the

country, the post included a goal of forging a network of volunteer

chaplain counselors for Indiana Family & Social Services staff. The

post imposed an unlawful religious test for public office (requiring a

minister to fill the position), and involved purely religious

activities, the Foundation noted.

In August, following a lot of bad press, FSSA announced that it would

discontinue the program, but the case was delayed due to a bizarre

wrinkle. The minister was placed on disability pay, leaving the

Foundation lawsuit up in the air.

This week, the Foundation received written notice that not only was the

chaplaincy program eliminated, but that all state benefits for Latham

were terminated on Sept. 23. Both parties then agreed to dismiss the

case.

The lawsuit resulted in two exposes by the Indianapolis Star's Robert

King, revealing that in nearly 18 months, after $120,000 of tax money

spent, the program had little to show for the time and money spent.

Latham was the state's highest-paid chaplain, although he lacked the

requisite college degree and other credentials required of state

hospital chaplains paid half his salary. Latham kept his fulltime

ministry in Fort Wayne, and did not work out of a state office in

Indianapolis. Latham had been a high-profile supporter of the

Republican candidacy of Mitch Daniels, now governor. Latham gave a

benediction at one of Daniels' inaugural events.

In addition to the Foundation's four Indiana state taxpayer-plaintiffs,

Craig Gosling, John Kiel, Sean O'Brien and Diana O'Brien, the

Foundation in July had also added state employee Jonathan Kraeszig, a

FSSA program director, who had been offended by the views promulgated

at an office workshop engineered by Latham.

"We're grateful to the four Indiana members who joined the Foundation

as plaintiffs, and to Mr. Kraeszig, as a state employee, for being

party to this lawsuit. Thanks to them, we have ended an over-the-top

Establishment Clause violation," said Dan Barker and Annie Laurie

Gaylor, Foundation co-presidents.

"This is a significant victory for the separation between religion and

government that will have national ramifications. The government should

not be ministering to government employees. That is not accommodation,

that is the establishment by government of religion."

The federal lawsuit was in the federal courtroom of U.S. District Judge

David Hamilton.

Read Legal Stipulation (PDF)

http://ffrf.org/legal/INstipulation07.pdf

Read original press release (May)

http://ffrf.org/news/2007/indianalawsuit.php

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., is a

national association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics) that has

been working since 1978 to keep church and state separate.

Freedom From Religion Foundation PO Box 750 Madison, WI 53701

(608) 256-8900

© Freedom From Religion Foundation.

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