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 [...]
UPDATE: 1/6/2010 – A recent news report linked by Atheists of Florida representative EllenBeth Wachs in the comments, below, contained an admission by Judd that the goals were “refurbished” and at least one backboard replaced. In addition, Wachs alleges that the receiving churches are not necessarily in economically disadvantaged areas or areas without nearby public [...]
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 [...]
The Ledger is reporting that the Lakeland City Commission has passed a resolution concerning their invocation policy. (UPDATE 8/3/2010: The Ledger has a more detailed article this morning.) The new policy is clearly designed to help the City get out of the recent lawsuit filed by the Atheists of Florida. You can read the draft [...]
A group called the Atheists of Florida announced that they have filed suit in U.S. District Court in Tampa against the City of Lakeland challenging the City’s current practice of having invocations before the start of its city commission meetings. The group posted a copy of the complaint on their website, but it is not signed and does [...]