An en banc decision issued today by the 6th Circuit squarely sets up a circuit split with the 4th Circuit on whether a board of county commissioners can engage in prayer before meetings where the prayer is led by members of the body. While the majority does not seem to address the question of whether "legislative" prayer is limited to "legislative" bodies, the concurrence mentions the concept of solemnizing legislative, judicial and executive sessions. So, perhaps this is the first step towards solemnizing all government proceedings with prayer? I can just imagine the first time a judge starts a murder trial involving a Muslim (pick some other faith) defendant with a Christian prayer and how that will be viewed in terms of a fair trial, or maybe I'm mistaken and the court won't find any conflict. All the same, it's odd that in Town of Greece, the SCT ignored the multi-faceted form of government most of us advise in favor of talking only about the "legislative" prayer. Oh, well - may the Force be with you. http://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/17a0207p-06.pdf Charles W. Thompson, Jr. Executive Director and General Counsel International Municipal Lawyers Association, Inc. 51 Monroe Street Suite 404 Rockville, Maryland 20850 202-466-5424 x7110 Direct: 202-742-1016 Cell: 240-876-6790 Plan ahead: IMLA's Annual Conference October 14- October 18, 2017 - Niagara, Ontario, Canada (Passport required) To register, go to: http://imla.org/events/conferences#registration IMLA's Annual Seminar and Section 1983 Defense Conference - April 20- April 23, 2018 Washington, DC