A Florida city has reached a settlement with an atheist group that sued it for hosting a prayer vigil in 2014, allowing a ruling against the event, deemed unconstitutional, to stand.
Ocala City Council members unanimously voted on Tuesday to approve a settlement with the American Humanist Association, which sued them over a city-sponsored vigil that included Christian prayers.
City Attorney William Sexton explained that, in return for the city ending an appeal of a lower court decision against them, the plaintiffs (American Humanist Association) agreed to forego the awarding of any attorney’s fees.
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According to the Ocala StarBanner, Sexton said “estimates for the potential liability associated with those fees — particularly if this case were to continue on appeal — have approached and even exceeded a million dollars.”
“… understanding the current state of the law in this area and the complexities associated with the path forward, as well as based upon my having heard your direction during our settlement negotiation shade meetings, I very much believe this outcome to be in the best interest of the city of Ocala and it is my recommendation that you approve this settlement,” Sexton added.
American Humanist Association Executive Director Fish Stark said in a statement on Wednesday that he considered the settlement a victory, noting that he was “encouraged that the city of Ocala has chosen to accept the lower court’s decision.”
“For us, this case was always about principle — it is never appropriate for the state to use taxpayer dollars to promote one set of religious beliefs over another,” Stark stated.
“As humanists, we remain committed to the important work of defending and advocating for the separation of church and state, and we are vindicated by this outcome.”
In 2014, a group of local atheists represented by the AHA sued the mayor, the police chief, and the Ocala Police Department for holding a prayer vigil in response to a mass shooting.
A United States district court ruled in favor of the atheists in May 2018, rejecting an argument from the defendants that the plaintiffs lacked the standing to sue over the prayer vigil.
However, in July 2022, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit unanimously decided to remand the case back to the district court, concluding that while the plaintiffs might have standing, the merits of their arguments were yet to be determined.
In March 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court released an orders list denying a petition to hear arguments in the case, with Justice Neil Gorsuch writing that there was “no need for the Court’s intervention at this juncture.”
Gorsuch cited the Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, in which the high court ruled 6-3 that a public school district was wrong to punish a high school football coach for praying on the field after the end of games.
“This case remains in an interlocutory posture — the Eleventh Circuit has remanded the case to the District Court to permit it to consider Kennedy’s implications in the first instance,” said Gorsuch.
“Moving forward, I expect lower courts will recognize that offended observer standing has no more foundation in the law than the Lemon test that inspired it. If I am wrong, the city is free to seek relief here after final judgment.”
In June of last year, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled that the vigil had violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
