Worthy Christian News > Christian Persecution > ACLJ Gets Court Order Upholding Constitutionality of In-Home Prayer for Connecticut Family

ACLJ Gets Court Order Upholding Constitutionality of In-Home Prayer for Connecticut Family

(Bridgeport, CT) – The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, said today a federal judge has issued a Preliminary Injunction against the Town of New Milford, Connecticut prohibiting the town from blocking a Connecticut family from continuing to hold prayer meetings inside their private residence.

“This is a complete and total victory for our clients and the First Amendment,” said Vince McCarthy, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ who is representing the family. “We have believed from the beginning that the actions of the town were unconstitutional and a violation of the First Amendment rights of our clients. The court has clearly taken the appropriate action in this case to prevent the local government from censoring the religious expression of a family who only desires to use their private residence for prayer in a legal and lawful manner. We are grateful the court stepped in to prevent this type of discriminatory behavior from continuing.”

The ACLJ filed suit in U.S. District Court in Hartford in December 2000 against the Town of New Milford on behalf of Robert and Mary Murphy, New Milford residents who have been holding weekly prayer meetings and Bible studies at their single-family home since 1995. A federal judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on December 21, 2000 – restraining the town from prohibiting the family from using their home to pray until the merits of the case were considered. The TRO came just days after the town issued a cease and desist order against the Murphy family for holding prayer meetings inside their home.

In an opinion issued July 5, 2001 and released to the ACLJ today, U.S. Magistrate Judge Holly Fitzsimmons granted the motion for preliminary injunction and prohibited the town from enforcing the outstanding cease and desist order that was issued against the Murphy family in December 2000. The opinion states that the town went too far in issuing the cease and desist order and said the town’s actions “have imposed and threaten to impose a substantial burden on the exercise of their religious beliefs.”

The ACLJ filed suit after the Murphy’s received a letter from town’s zoning enforcement officer in November 2000 ordering the Murphy’s to suspend the prayer meetings at their home – saying the zoning commission had determined that such activity is not permissible. The letter also stated that the town would take legal action against the family if they continued to hold the prayer meetings at their home.

The complaint contends the prayer meetings, which are attended by the Murphy family and no more than 25 additional people, do not violate any town regulations and are in full compliance with all applicable law.

The lawsuit, which named the Zoning Commission and its members as defendants, charged the actions of the town violated the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution as well as provisions of Connecticut law. The suit requested the court grant an injunction prohibiting the town from continuing its discriminatory action.

McCarthy says he will now ask the court to make the preliminary injunction permanent, which will bring an end to this case. “This ruling sends an important message that the government cannot act as the ‘prayer police’ and censor legal and lawful religious expression,” said McCarthy.