Calif. court blocking Bible study 'should know better,' says attorney

Calif. court blocking Bible study 'should know better,' says attorney

A group of federal court employees in San Diego have filed a lawsuit against their supervisors after being told they couldn't hold Bible studies on government property during their lunch hour -- even though other groups are allowed to hold meetings at the courthouse.

Seven years ago, several court employees for the San Diego Superior Court began meeting for weekly Bible studies in an empty jury room. Those meetings took place with the court's permission. But last year, officials said the Bible study group could no longer meet in the courthouse. The court also instituted a new policy that required all individuals, groups, or organizations wanting to use court facilities to submit applications. When the Bible study participants did that, their request was denied on the grounds it would violate the supposed separation of church and state.

Jennifer Monk is legal counsel with California-based Advocates for Faith and Freedom, which represents employees Mindy Barlow, Beverly Lindahl, and Dalia Smith. She says federal court officials should know the Constitution.

"We don't really know why they're doing it; I don't know if it's just them misapplying the Constitution, which of course happens," she says. But as court officials, she adds, "they definitely should know better."

"But at this point ... we would love for them to realize that it is constitutional, that they can [meet for Bible study and that] there is no violation of the separation of church and state, which of course isn't a part of the Establishment Clause anyway," notes the attorney.

Monk says her clients would drop the lawsuit if courthouse officials allowed the weekly lunchtime Bible studies to resume. Regardless, she says, "it's important to show that Christians have the right to access, whether it be a government building or to allow them to express their religious beliefs on their own free time."

The American Center for Law & Justice is co-counsel on the case.