Related
Translate
Previous entry: Kenyan judge releases former Mungiki sect leader
Next entry: Malaysia sets May 30 for ruling on Islam conversion
Get RNB via RSS
 |
RNB's RSS feed What is this? |
Get RNB via Email
 |
 Subscribe by Email What is this? |
Follow: Twitter
Most Popular
This Week:
- Polygamist Sect Leader Convicted of Sexual Assault
- Jury takes 14 minutes to convict self-proclaimed pot pastor
- Supreme Court upholds cult AUM Shinrikyo members’ death sentences
- Newspaper continues series of exposés of Scientology cult
- Epic Mohammad movie in pipeline
- Coptic Christian Blogger in Egypt Pressured to Convert to Islam in Prison
- Italian judge convicts 23 in CIA kidnapping of Muslim cleric
- Cult leader Warren Jeffs’ attorneys argue sect leader faced wrong charge
- I know the dark side of Scientology…I almost lost my friend when she became obsessed with it
- Texas judge limits some records in FLDS trial over polygamy references
N.C. judge says witnesses can take oath with Quran, any religious text
More articles on this topic: Church and StateRALEIGH, N.C. – Witnesses and jurors being sworn in at state courthouses can take their oath using any religious text, not just the Bible, a judge ruled Thursday.
Judge Paul Ridgeway said common law and state Supreme Court precedent allow witnesses and jurors to use the text “most sacred and obligatory upon their conscience.”
The ruling came after the American Civil Liberties Union argued that limiting that text to the Bible was unconstitutional because it favored Christianity over other religions.
The issue surfaced when Muslims tried to donate copies of the Quran to Guilford County’s two courthouses.
Two judges declined to accept the texts, saying that taking an oath on the Quran was illegal under state law.
State law allows witnesses preparing to testify in court to take their oath by laying a hand over “the Holy Scriptures,” by saying “so help me God” without the use of a religious book or by an affirmation using no religious symbols.
The ACLU sought a court order declaring the statute unconstitutional or clarifying that it was broad enough to allow the use of multiple religious texts.
Though the judge stopped short of that, the ACLU and others supporting the lawsuit still considered the ruling “a great victory.”
“We welcome this ruling as an expression of our nation’s constitutional commitment to religious diversity and tolerance,” said Arsalan Iftikhar, legal director for Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The ACLU said six other states have similar laws that favor the Bible in courtrooms: Arkansas, Delaware, Kansas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
A trial court judge initially dismissed the ACLU’s suit in December 2005.
The judge ruled it was moot because there was no actual controversy at the time.
An appeals court panel allowed the case to go forward in January, after the ACLU added Syidah Mateen as a plaintiff.
In its decision, the appeals court cited Mateen’s claim that her request to place her hand on the Quran as a witness in a domestic violence case was denied in 2003.
During a hearing this month, state attorneys asked Ridgeway to dismiss the case, calling the complaint political.
The state has 30 days to appeal Thursday’s ruling and is reviewing it, said Noelle Talley, spokeswoman for the state attorney general.
What You Can Do From Here
|
Read More Articles On These Topics
Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article
Subscribe
Read Another Article
Previous entry: Kenyan judge releases former Mungiki sect leader Next entry: Malaysia sets May 30 for ruling on Islam conversion
RNB Homepage with latest headlinesFind Related Information
Find Related Books
|
Share This Article
To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:
