The Satanic Temple, Inc. v. City of Boston: Difference between revisions

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   | plaintiff=The Satanic Temple Inc.
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[[The Satanic Temple, Inc.]] sued the city of Boston in federal court on Jan. 20. 2021, claiming that its rights had been violated by the invocation prior to city council meetings, specifically that TST hadn't been one of the invited clergy despite asking for it for three years.<ref>[https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/01/26/satanic-temple-sues-boston-prayer-policy, WBUR.org], ''Satanic Temple Sues Boston Over Opening Prayer Policy'', Jan. 26, 2021</ref> Council policy allowed each council member to invite a speaker of their choice to deliver the opening prayer before each meeting a few times a year.


'''Satanic Temple Sues Boston Over Opening Prayer Policy'''<ref>[https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/01/26/satanic-temple-sues-boston-prayer-policy, WBUR.org], ''Satanic Temple Sues Boston Over Opening Prayer Policy'', Jan. 26, 2021</ref>
On July 31, 2023, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit concluding that councilors were recognizing the good work done in the city by the clergy, not because they're pushing a particular religious viewpoint.<ref>[https://www.universalhub.com/2023/judge-rules-boston-city-council-doesnt-have-let UniversalHub.com], ''udge rules Boston City Council doesn't have to let Satanists give an invocation if it doesn't want to'', July 31, 2023</ref>


: The Satanic Temple has sued Boston after the city council declined to allow Satanists to deliver an invocation at the start of its meetings.
The judge had also previously sanctioned The Satanic Temple for $8,000 in part for its legal team's stated desire to depose in Salem, Mass., then-Boston mayoral candidate Michelle Wu on Election Day of 2021, forcing the city to spend resources making legal arguments preventing that from taking place.<ref>[https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/31223191/47/the-satanic-temple-inc-v-city-of-boston/ CourtListener.com], The Satanic Temple, Inc. v. City of Boston, ''Memorandum & ORDER — Document #47''</ref>
 
: The Salem-based group, which has lodged freedom of religion challenges nationwide, said Tuesday that the council's policy for its opening prayer is discriminatory and unconstitutional because it does not permit prayer from every religious organization that wishes to deliver one.
 
: Satanists have asked to give the opening invocation on at least three occasions, and each time they were informed the council doesn’t accept requests, the organization said. Council policy allows each council member to invite a speaker of their choice to deliver the opening prayer before each meeting a few times a year, according to the organization.
 
'''Satanists allowed to continue to press claim that the way the City Council picks clergy for invocations is unconstitutional'''<ref>[https://www.universalhub.com/2021/satanists-allowed-continue-press-claim-way-city UniversalHub.com], ''Satanists allowed to continue to press claim that the way the City Council picks clergy for invocations is unconstitutional'', July 21, 2021</ref>
:A federal judge ruled today (July 21, 2021) that Salem-based Satanists can continue to press their claim that the way the Boston City Council picks clergy members to start its Wednesday meetings - but not them - violates the Constitution's ban on the establishment of religion.
 
:The Satanic Temple, frustrated in its efforts to give an invocation for a City Council meeting, sued the council in January, alleging the current system, in which councilors take turns inviting a clergy member to address the council, violates the First Amendment prohibition against government-sponsored religion and the group's First Amendment free-speech rights and violates their rights to equal treatment under the Fourteenth Amendment.
 
:In her ruling today, US District Court Judge Allison Burroughs agreed with city lawyers that the policy does not infringe on the temple's free-speech or equal-protection rights and dismissed those claims. But she ruled that the group had made a "plausible" enough case about the establishment issue to warrant it going forward in court.


==References==
==References==

Latest revision as of 04:25, 1 August 2023


The Satanic Temple, Inc. v. City of Boston
Filing Date 1/20/2021
Original Jurisdiction US District Court of Massachusetts - Boston
Plaintiff The Satanic Temple Inc.
Defendant City of Boston
Intervenor N/A
State Massachusetts
Case# 1:21-cv-10102
Original Result Dismissed (failure)
First Appeal N/A
Second Appeal N/A
Final Result

The Satanic Temple, Inc. sued the city of Boston in federal court on Jan. 20. 2021, claiming that its rights had been violated by the invocation prior to city council meetings, specifically that TST hadn't been one of the invited clergy despite asking for it for three years.[1] Council policy allowed each council member to invite a speaker of their choice to deliver the opening prayer before each meeting a few times a year.

On July 31, 2023, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit concluding that councilors were recognizing the good work done in the city by the clergy, not because they're pushing a particular religious viewpoint.[2]

The judge had also previously sanctioned The Satanic Temple for $8,000 in part for its legal team's stated desire to depose in Salem, Mass., then-Boston mayoral candidate Michelle Wu on Election Day of 2021, forcing the city to spend resources making legal arguments preventing that from taking place.[3]

References

  1. ↑ WBUR.org, Satanic Temple Sues Boston Over Opening Prayer Policy, Jan. 26, 2021
  2. ↑ UniversalHub.com, udge rules Boston City Council doesn't have to let Satanists give an invocation if it doesn't want to, July 31, 2023
  3. ↑ CourtListener.com, The Satanic Temple, Inc. v. City of Boston, Memorandum & ORDER — Document #47
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