Skip to main content

On The Front Lines

Rutherford Institute Attorneys Appeal to the Supreme Court in Defense of Right to Religious Expression in Graduation Speech

Institute Attorneys File Appeal on Behalf of High School Salutatorian Nicholas Lassonde

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Nicholas Lassonde, a former high school salutatorian who was ordered by school officials to remove religious language from his graduation speech. The appeal challenges a February 2003 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirming dismissal of the case. Institute attorneys argue that permitting Lassonde's religious statements would not have violated the constitutional requirement of separation of church and state.

On February 19, 2003, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an October 2001 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson. On June 18, 1999, Nicholas Lassonde delivered his salutatorian speech at his graduation ceremony, but not before school officials who were fearful of violating the so-called "separation of church and state" demanded that certain sections they considered "proselytizing comments" be removed. For example, Lassonde was asked to remove the phrase "seek out the Lord and let him guide you." Under protest, Lassonde agreed to deliver the censored speech but also handed out copies of the full text outside the site of the graduation ceremony. During his speech, Lassonde informed the audience that his speech had been censored. Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute filed suit against the school district and several of its officials, alleging unlawful censorship of Lassonde's religious point of view. Judge Henderson dismissed the lawsuit on October 2, 2001, holding that censorship was "necessary" to avoid endorsing religion. Although the Supreme Court has ruled that student-led prayer at graduation ceremonies violates the Establishment Clause, it has yet to weight in on the more difficult question of whether a student graduation speaker may be censored simply because his speech is religious.

"The school principal's line-for-line censorship of Nick's most deeply cherished views was religious discrimination that cannot be justified by the school's professed need to enforce 'separation of church and state,'" said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "America's commitment to pluralism and diversity rings hollow when it is only devoutly religious students who are singled out for silencing."

The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.





Press Contact

Nisha N. Mohammed Ph: (434) 978-3888, ext. 604; Pager: 800-946-4646, Pin #: 1478257 Email: Nisha@rutherford.org

Donate

Copyright 2024 © The Rutherford Institute • Post Office Box 7482 • Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482 (434) 978-3888
The Rutherford Institute is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are fully deductible as a charitable contribution.