ACLU of Kentucky

Legal Program

Unsuccessful Bid to Promote Religion Costly for Counties

Friday, September 9, 2011, 11:22 pm

Pulaski County pays more than $230,000 to the ACLU of Kentucky

Louisville, KY – Today Pulaski County officials paid more than $230,000 to the ACLU of Kentucky for legal fees incurred by the civil rights organization in challenging the County’s posting of three separate Ten Commandments displays in its courthouse.

In addressing today’s payment, ACLU of Kentucky attorney William Sharp stated, “It is unfortunate that despite having lost before every court to consider this case, county officials nonetheless prolonged this litigation for more than a decade thereby increasing the financial burden on taxpayers.” Sharp added, “This case reaffirms that government officials may not use public office to promote a religious agenda, and failure to abide by that basic constitutional limitation on governmental authority can be costly.”

“The ACLU of Ky. recognizes that many people feel strongly about this issue because it touches upon one of the most fundamental facets of one’s own identity — their religious beliefs,” explained ACLU of Kentucky Executive Director Michael Aldridge, “but ours is a limited form of government that lacks authority to promote a particular religion, even if that religion is shared by most people. When courts reaffirm that principle, even when the decision is unpopular, it is a victory for everyone’s religious freedom.”

Thursday, May 19, 2011, 11:00 am

By Bill Estep — This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

SOMERSET — The legal bill continues to mount for two south-central Kentucky counties from their lengthy, unsuccessful fight to post copies of the Ten Commandments in their courthouses.

This week, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Coffman awarded an additional $23,366 in attorney fees and costs to the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky for its work in challenging the displays, which were ruled unconstitutional.

Pulaski and McCreary counties now owe the ACLU a total of $456,881, nearly all of it for attorney fees. That figure doesn't include mounting interest.

Read the full Herald Leader story here .

God in the dock

Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 3:56 pm

In two pending cases before the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the state is 1) defending its right to credit Almighty God for its safety and security and 2) opposing the right of a strict Amish group to rely on God for their safety, rather than a bright triangle as they travel public roadways in their horse-drawn buggies.

These cases are more complicated than that, but the similarities are striking. In both cases, Attorney General Jack Conway’s office is on one side and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky is on the other.

Read the full Courier Journal story here .

Lawyer says right to religious liberty protects Amish sect's refusal to use triangle on buggies

Friday, March 25, 2011, 2:00 pm

cloudsoup "Amish Alert". 2006. Online Image. Flickr.

A lawyer for nine Western Kentucky Amish men said the constitutional right to religious liberty should protect their refusal to put state-mandated bright safety emblems on their horse-drawn buggies.

“This case is about the right of Kentuckians to freely exercise their religious beliefs and by necessity the limits of government's ability to impose a substantial burden on that right,”said William Sharp of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky.

Read the whole Courier Journal article here.

ACLU of Ky free-speech suit grows from lawyer's criticism of state ethics commission

Monday, March 21, 2011, 10:26 am

In 2007 John M. Berry Jr. disagreed with the ethics commission after they had dismissed a complaint against Kentucky Senate President David Williams for soliciting campaign money from Frankfort lobbyists.

Berry sent a letter to the ethics commissioners, claiming they failed in their duty. He went on to attend their next meeting and provided his letter to journalists.

Berry's claim was met with a complaint filed with the Kentucky Bar Association by ethics commissioner, Paul Gudgel, a retired state Court of Appeals chief judge.

Following Gudgel's complaint, the KBA launched an professional conduct investigation of Berry and after 15 months, the KBA Inquiry Commission dismissed Gudgel's complaint but it still sent Berry a warning letter.

Berry responded by suing the KBA, citing the First Amendment. He asked the ACLU of Ky to represent him.

"The bottom line on our position is that the contents of Mr. Berry's letter are protected speech, and to the extent that they want torestrict his comments, the KBA's warning is chilling," said ACLU staff attorney William Sharp. "Attorneys should be able, just like the rest of society, to provide insightful criticisms into governmental operations. If they cannot, all of us lose."

Read the full Herald Leader story here.

Read Berry's full letter here.

Read the ACLU of Ky's support for summary judgment.

Read the KBA's summary judgment here.

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