PARKERSBURG — Attorneys for the City of Parkersburg and the Freedom from Religion Foundation have asked a federal judge to decide a lawsuit over the recitation of the Lord’s prayer by City Council members without a hearing. Both sides submitted a joint stipulation of facts to U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia John T. Copenhaver Jr., laying out agreed-upon details of the case, in March. Motions by the plaintiffs and defendant seeking summary judgment in their favor were filed this week. The move to have the case decided without trial is unrelated to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Freedom from Religion Foundation Senior Counsel Patrick Elliott said via email. It was in the works toward the end of last year because the facts of the case are not in dispute, just their legal interpretation. The suit was filed in 2018 by the Freedom from Religion Foundation on behalf of two Parkersburg residents, Daryl Cobranchi and Eric Engle, who are members of the Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization that advocates for separation of church and state. It challenged City Council’s practice of standing and reciting the Lord’s prayer prior to the start of meetings, saying the action endorses Christianity […]
