A Texas judge I can admire.
Samuel Frederick ("Fred") Biery, Jr., Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in San Antonio, ruled last year on a church/state case involving prayer at a Texas high school, against the Medina Valley Independent School District. His decision was overturned on appeal and returned to his court for further action.
"Over the last several months," writes Peterr at FDL, "Biery has been pushing, prodding, nudging, and otherwise encouraging the two sides closer together, and in February a full settlement agreement was reached [pdf]. But it didn’t happen without a real mess, as the judge made clear in the order approving the settlement."What This Case Has Not Been About
The right to pray.
Any American can pray, silently or verbally, seven days a week, twenty four hours a day, in private as Jesus taught1 or in large public events as Mohammed instructed.2
1 Matthew 6:5-8 ("and when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others ... But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray ... And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.").
2 Quran 2:43 ("You shall observe the Contact Prayers and give the obligatory charity, and bow down with those who bow down."). Muslims are obligated to attend the mosque at least once a week and other prayers may be said alone, but all prayer is always more acceptable to God in community. See PAUL GRIEVE, A BRIEF GUIDE TO ISLAM: FAITH, RELIGION, POLITICS (Carroll and Graf, 2006). Daily prayers within fixed times are done "with the entire brotherhood and sisterhood of believers facing towards Mecca from all around the world, following the same prescribed formula." Id.
At the end of the settlement agreement, under "It is so ORDERED" and Biery's signature, Biery added:A PERSONAL STATEMENT
During the course of this litigation, many have played a part:
To the United States Marshal Service and local police who have provided heightened security:
Thank you.
To those Christians who have venomously and vomitously cursed the court family and threatened bodily harm and assassination: In His name, I forgive you.
To those who have prayed for my death: Your prayers will someday be answered, as inevitably trumps probability.
To those in the executive and legislative branches of government who have demagogued this case for their own political goals: You should be ashamed of yourselves.
To the lawyers who have advocated professionally and respectfully for their clients’ respective positions: Bless you.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this settlement did not settle everything. In late March, Biery was forced to issue what he called a "Non-Kumbaya Order" [pdf].
On February 9, he noted, and bold is my emphasis,the Court approved the parties' settlement agreement. Observing that the Court would retain jurisdiction to enforce it for the next ten years, the Court urged the parties to "be tolerant of the beliefs of others and abide by the standards they have set for themselves." (Docket no. 136, at page 2). To ensure the parties promote respect for and compliance with its terms, the settlement agreement contains a non-disparagement provision: "School District Personnel will not disparage the Plaintiffs."
Hours after the Court approved the settlement agreement, the MVISD superintendent gave a televised interview and, among other things, stated "It is a witch hunt - [t]hat's all this has been."
The superintendent also lied that "[t]hey want our teachers to stop wearing crosses." Meanwhile, a marching band director called one of the plaintiffs a liar on someone else's Facebook (which is actionable if proven in court), and "liked" the following a comment by a recent graduate: "There should be a disclaimer after a prayer that says: 'No atheists or anti-religious activists were harmed in the recitation of this prayer.'"
Biery continues:Like a good cook, the Court has purposely let this matter dished up to the court simmer for several weeks. The reason for the delay was to see if further allegations were made once the emotions of the moments and media attention following the settlement agreement had subsided. The Court has not been made aware of any.
Silence is golden.
But that's not all! Biery goes on to list "six lawyers who ... lost their law licenses for, among other things, talking too much": Richard Nixon, his attorney general John Mitchell, Bill Clinton, Texas attorney general and mail fraudster Dan Morales, Bush administration perjurer Scooter Libby, and Texas judge and sexual harasser Samuel Kent.
And, he points out, this is only the fifth time in his 33 years on the bench that he recalls having to threaten or impose parties or lawyers who talked too much with a contempt-of-court hearing. "Or as grandmothers and moms have taught for generations, 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.'"The four previous events may be instructive to the parties:
1. Two usually gentlemanly lawyers continued to pick at each other verbally. The Court threatened to have United States Marshals take the two attorneys in front of the Alamo and be required to kiss each other on the lips. They quickly apologized and the unprofessional verbal sparring ceased.
2. One the other hand, two lawyers, notwithstanding the Court's admonitions and the jury's obvious displeasure, continued their antics. Because they were acting like third graders, the Court ordered them put in 'time out' for a portion of the trial. The misbehavior ceased, and the jury was quite pleased, much as school officials are pleased when students obey the rules and follow directions.
3. A citizen, blessed to be an American, wrote to the Court that he would serve as a jury only if he were paid $100 per hour because of his 'importance' to his business. Upon being offered chauffeur service and room and board provided by the United States Marshals Service if he did not appear at the appointed time, the citizen timely came to jury service and apologized.
4. A young man once disagreed with the Court's ruling as it affected someone with whom the individual had some sort of familial interest. After dropping the F-bomb in open court after the Court's ruling, the young man spent three days in jail.
Observing, "Surely, the parties and counsel have more constructive things to do," Biery wraps up:The court does not expect the parties to hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’ around a campfire beside the Medina River. Nor does the court expect the respondents to engage in a public spectacle of self-flagellation for communicating words better left unsaid.
Moreover, the court does not expect plaintiffs to become Traditional Christians, though the court suggests plaintiffs might follow the moral and civility lessons of Matthew 5:39 ("if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also") and a portion of "Essay on Criticism" ("to err is human; to forgive, divine")."
The order concludes with a written statement of apology and a second statement accepting the apology, which Biery directed the school district and plaintiff, respectively, to sign and deliver to the other party within 10 days. Absent those signatures and deliveries, a contempt hearing would be scheduled (no word on what's happened since).
Unlocked.
This entry was originally posted at http://ms-daisy-cutter.dreamwidth.org/1809517.html. Please comment there using either your DW account or OpenID.
"Over the last several months," writes Peterr at FDL, "Biery has been pushing, prodding, nudging, and otherwise encouraging the two sides closer together, and in February a full settlement agreement was reached [pdf]. But it didn’t happen without a real mess, as the judge made clear in the order approving the settlement."What This Case Has Not Been About
The right to pray.
Any American can pray, silently or verbally, seven days a week, twenty four hours a day, in private as Jesus taught1 or in large public events as Mohammed instructed.2
1 Matthew 6:5-8 ("and when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others ... But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray ... And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.").
2 Quran 2:43 ("You shall observe the Contact Prayers and give the obligatory charity, and bow down with those who bow down."). Muslims are obligated to attend the mosque at least once a week and other prayers may be said alone, but all prayer is always more acceptable to God in community. See PAUL GRIEVE, A BRIEF GUIDE TO ISLAM: FAITH, RELIGION, POLITICS (Carroll and Graf, 2006). Daily prayers within fixed times are done "with the entire brotherhood and sisterhood of believers facing towards Mecca from all around the world, following the same prescribed formula." Id.
At the end of the settlement agreement, under "It is so ORDERED" and Biery's signature, Biery added:A PERSONAL STATEMENT
During the course of this litigation, many have played a part:
To the United States Marshal Service and local police who have provided heightened security:
Thank you.
To those Christians who have venomously and vomitously cursed the court family and threatened bodily harm and assassination: In His name, I forgive you.
To those who have prayed for my death: Your prayers will someday be answered, as inevitably trumps probability.
To those in the executive and legislative branches of government who have demagogued this case for their own political goals: You should be ashamed of yourselves.
To the lawyers who have advocated professionally and respectfully for their clients’ respective positions: Bless you.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this settlement did not settle everything. In late March, Biery was forced to issue what he called a "Non-Kumbaya Order" [pdf].
On February 9, he noted, and bold is my emphasis,the Court approved the parties' settlement agreement. Observing that the Court would retain jurisdiction to enforce it for the next ten years, the Court urged the parties to "be tolerant of the beliefs of others and abide by the standards they have set for themselves." (Docket no. 136, at page 2). To ensure the parties promote respect for and compliance with its terms, the settlement agreement contains a non-disparagement provision: "School District Personnel will not disparage the Plaintiffs."
Hours after the Court approved the settlement agreement, the MVISD superintendent gave a televised interview and, among other things, stated "It is a witch hunt - [t]hat's all this has been."
The superintendent also lied that "[t]hey want our teachers to stop wearing crosses." Meanwhile, a marching band director called one of the plaintiffs a liar on someone else's Facebook (which is actionable if proven in court), and "liked" the following a comment by a recent graduate: "There should be a disclaimer after a prayer that says: 'No atheists or anti-religious activists were harmed in the recitation of this prayer.'"
Biery continues:Like a good cook, the Court has purposely let this matter dished up to the court simmer for several weeks. The reason for the delay was to see if further allegations were made once the emotions of the moments and media attention following the settlement agreement had subsided. The Court has not been made aware of any.
Silence is golden.
But that's not all! Biery goes on to list "six lawyers who ... lost their law licenses for, among other things, talking too much": Richard Nixon, his attorney general John Mitchell, Bill Clinton, Texas attorney general and mail fraudster Dan Morales, Bush administration perjurer Scooter Libby, and Texas judge and sexual harasser Samuel Kent.
And, he points out, this is only the fifth time in his 33 years on the bench that he recalls having to threaten or impose parties or lawyers who talked too much with a contempt-of-court hearing. "Or as grandmothers and moms have taught for generations, 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.'"The four previous events may be instructive to the parties:
1. Two usually gentlemanly lawyers continued to pick at each other verbally. The Court threatened to have United States Marshals take the two attorneys in front of the Alamo and be required to kiss each other on the lips. They quickly apologized and the unprofessional verbal sparring ceased.
2. One the other hand, two lawyers, notwithstanding the Court's admonitions and the jury's obvious displeasure, continued their antics. Because they were acting like third graders, the Court ordered them put in 'time out' for a portion of the trial. The misbehavior ceased, and the jury was quite pleased, much as school officials are pleased when students obey the rules and follow directions.
3. A citizen, blessed to be an American, wrote to the Court that he would serve as a jury only if he were paid $100 per hour because of his 'importance' to his business. Upon being offered chauffeur service and room and board provided by the United States Marshals Service if he did not appear at the appointed time, the citizen timely came to jury service and apologized.
4. A young man once disagreed with the Court's ruling as it affected someone with whom the individual had some sort of familial interest. After dropping the F-bomb in open court after the Court's ruling, the young man spent three days in jail.
Observing, "Surely, the parties and counsel have more constructive things to do," Biery wraps up:The court does not expect the parties to hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’ around a campfire beside the Medina River. Nor does the court expect the respondents to engage in a public spectacle of self-flagellation for communicating words better left unsaid.
Moreover, the court does not expect plaintiffs to become Traditional Christians, though the court suggests plaintiffs might follow the moral and civility lessons of Matthew 5:39 ("if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also") and a portion of "Essay on Criticism" ("to err is human; to forgive, divine")."
The order concludes with a written statement of apology and a second statement accepting the apology, which Biery directed the school district and plaintiff, respectively, to sign and deliver to the other party within 10 days. Absent those signatures and deliveries, a contempt hearing would be scheduled (no word on what's happened since).
Unlocked.
This entry was originally posted at http://ms-daisy-cutter.dreamwidth.org/1809517.html. Please comment there using either your DW account or OpenID.