Captive audience. (Will C. Fry) Cambridge Christian School of Tampa argues in the lawsuit that the decision blocking the use of the loudspeaker for the prayer violated First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell in 2017 dismissed the case, but a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ruling Wednesday and sent the lawsuit back to the lower court. “The lower court was too quick to pull the trigger insofar as it dismissed the appellants’ (Cambridge’s) free speech and free exercise (of religion) claims,” the 70-page appeals court decision said. “We cannot say whether these claims will ultimately succeed, but Cambridge Christian has plausibly alleged enough to enter the courtroom and be heard.” The case stems from a December 2015 football championship game between Cambridge Christian and Jacksonville’s University Christian School at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The athletic association prevented the use of the public-address system for a prayer, saying in court documents that such a prayer would have been viewed as “government speech.” “The two schools, both Christian institutions, asked the FHSAA for permission to conduct a joint prayer over the loudspeaker before kickoff, as they each typically did before […]
