A federal judge has ruled against Montgomery County Judge Wayne Mack’s practice of opening his court with a prayer said by a member of a volunteer chaplain program. Southern District of Texas Judge Kenneth Hoyt on Friday deemed the prayers violated the Establishment Clause, which is the Constitutional provision prohibiting an establishment of religion. Mack did so by presenting himself “before a captured audience of litigants and their counsel … to advance, through the Chaplaincy Program, God’s ‘larger purpose,’” read Hoyt’s decision, which referenced a 2015 letter from Mack to supporters. “Such a magnanimous goal flies in the face of historical tradition, and makes a mockery of both, religion and law.” Mack on Tuesday said he disagreed with Hoyt’s characterization, pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court’s invocation, “God save the United States and this honorable court.” Mack presides over a misdemeanor and small claims courtroom in Willis. Mack is being represented by the First Liberty Institute, a Plano, Texas-based nonprofit that litigates First Amendment issues. Justin Butterfield, deputy general counsel at the First Liberty Institute, said the group is going to appeal the ruling in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. A motion to stay will be filed […]
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