The State Attorney’s Office is proceeding with its prosecution of EllenBeth Wachs, legal affairs coordinator for the Atheists of Florida, Inc., a co-plaintiff in its lawsuit against the City of Lakeland concerning pre-commission meeting invocations. The charges are based on Fla. Stat. sec. 454.23, which states:
As posted last week, a federal judge ruled against the City of Lakeland in part on its motion to dismiss the Complaint filed by the Atheists of Florida, Inc. and EllenBeth Wachs concerning the City’s invocation practices prior to city commission meetings. My prior posts on this case contain substantial background information. There is very [...]
A federal judge issued an order today allowing the Atheist’s of Florida’s lawsuit against the City of Lakeland over pre-meeting invocations to proceed forward. The City had moved to dismiss the case on several grounds. The judge dismissed two of the four claims in the lawsuit but declined to dismiss the most important claims in [...]
Late Thursday night, Plaintiffs Atheists of Florida, Inc. and Ellenbeth Wachs have filed a Response to the City’s Motion to Dismiss. I have little additional comment beyond what I said after the City filed the Motion to Dismiss. The portion of this that seems trickiest to me is the dispute over whether Mayor Fields should [...]
The City of Lakeland has filed a Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit filed against the City and Mayor Gow Fields. Read the document: Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss The argument is fairly straightforward and the motion is very well written. The City argues that the claims of the plaintiffs are moot because of the resolution passed [...]