RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal appeals court will consider whether county commissioners in North Carolina violated the Constitution by delivering Christian prayers at their meetings and inviting audience members to join.
A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled on Wednesday to hear Rowan County’s effort to overturn a federal judge’s ruling that local officials ran afoul of constitutional requirements separating church and state.
The case marks the first time a federal appeals court has considered how local councils conduct prayers since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 upheld a New York town’s use of predominantly Christian invocations at its meetings.
The appeals court in Richmond is expected to issue a written ruling sometime after this week’s hearing.
