An evenly divided federal appeals court Wednesday refused to reconsider a ruling that group prayers before evening meals at Virginia Military Institute are unconstitutional.
The 6-6 vote by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lets stand a three-judge panel’s decision that the prayers, although non-denominational, violate separation of church and state.
Virginia Atty. Gen. Jerry Kilgore said he would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“These prayers are part of VMI’s educational program and are precisely the kind of prayers recited in the United States military, on ships at sea each night, and before lunch at the United States Naval Academy,” he said.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of two former cadets in 2001, arguing that the school’s rigid atmosphere did not accommodate cadets who did not want to participate.
