Jason Bachand was at today’s trial and he breaks down his experience for us. (If you want more background on the story, check out this post.)
I love this bit:
At one point, Judge Lagueux interrupted [defense counsel Joseph Cavanagh, Jr.’s] remarks to ask: “What if [the banner] had been written to the Great Buddha?” “Well, if that’s what the school had decided and established… if the school had grown up around it, that would be fine,” Cavanagh answered.
And Jason gives us a summary that bodes well for church/state separation supporters:
There’s an old saying in legal practice: “When the facts are on your side, pound the facts. When the law is on your side, pound the law. When neither the law nor the facts are on your side, pound the table.” Defense counsel Cavanagh did a lot of table pounding today, evoking the false memory of a bygone time when — evidently — everyone was a Christian and things were somehow simpler (through conformity? One wonders). It may have been typical to pray in public schools at some point in our nation’s history, but during that same era it was likewise customary to segregate schools, buses, and restaurants. Regarding segregation, most of us would likely say “We know better now.” How can it be that unconstitutional and discriminatory religious beliefs — publicly endorsed — are any different? We really ought to know better by now.
The judge’s ruling should be rendered within the next few weeks.
