Rowan County Appeals Lawsuit Over Prayer Before County Meetings; High-Profile Attorney Now Representing The County

RICHMOND, Va., July 28, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yesterday evening, Liberty Institute, along with nationally recognized Liberty Institute volunteer attorney Allyson Ho, filed a brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in the case of Lund v. Rowan County, defending the right of the Rowan County commissioners to open their meetings in prayer. (Read about Allyson Ho below.) A copy of the brief may be viewed here: https://www.libertyinstitute.org/rowan.

For many years, the Rowan County Commissioners opened their meetings with an invocation. They allowed each commissioner, on a rotating basis, an opportunity to offer an invocation or lead a moment of silence. In March 2013, three Rowan County residents, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit, objecting to the invocations. While the lawsuit was pending, the Supreme Court ruled in Greece v. Galloway that governmental bodies may open their meetings in prayer without violating the Establishment Clause – including prayers with specific religious references. See opinion: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-696_bpm1.pdf 

Hiram Sasser, Deputy Chief Counsel for Liberty Institute "We are honored that someone of Allyson Ho's reputation and accomplishment is leading this appeal for our client. Her extensive experience before the United States Supreme Court is impressive and extremely helpful on this issue."

Ms. Ho is nationally recognized as a "superstar appellate lawyer" as noted in Chambers and Partners. After earning a Ph.D. from Rice University and a J.D. from University of Chicago Law School, Ms. Ho clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and currently serves on the bipartisan Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee. She has litigated cases in every federal court of appeals and is the only female attorney to argue two cases before the Supreme Court in the in 2014 term.

Allyson Ho, Liberty Institute, The Gibbs Law Firm and Alliance Defending Freedom represent Rowan County on the appeal.

About Liberty Institute    
Liberty Institute is the largest nonprofit legal organization in the nation dedicated solely to defending religious liberty in America. Liberty Institute protects freedom of religious expression in our military, schools, churches, and throughout the public arena. For more information, visit www.LibertyInstitute.org.

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SOURCE Liberty Institute