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To: dread78645

The lefties are quite fearful of Judge Thomas on such matters, and with good reason:

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0123-15.htm


560 posted on 04/20/2006 12:32:27 PM PDT by puroresu (Conservatism is an observation; Liberalism is an ideology)
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To: puroresu
The lefties are quite fearful of Judge Thomas on such matters, and with good reason:

I don't share the nightmares of the left-wingers regarding Justice Thomas.

"Senator, as I indicated yesterday, my comments there were not taken to in any way reflect on the legal rulings on the establishment clause or the free exercise clause. As I indicated yesterday, that from my standpoint, as a citizen of this country and as a judge, that the metaphor of the Jeffersonian wall of separation is an important metaphor. The Court has established the Lemon test to analyze the establishment clause cases, and I have no quarrel with that test.
The Court, of course, has had difficulty in applying the Lemon test and is grappling with that as we sit here, I would assume, and over the past few years, but the concept itself, the Jeffersonian wall of separation, the Lemon test, neither of those do I quarrel with.

" ... as well as Justice Kennedy I think has applied a coercion test. I think the judges are grappling at, when church and the government are inexorably in contact with each other, how much separation can there be and how do you draw the line."
-- Judge Clarence Thomas, Senate Confirmation Hearings Sep 12

You might want to read the opinion in Van Orden v. Perry and the dissents in McCreary County v. ACLU , Santa Fe ISD.

While Justice Thomas seems unconcerned with the 'secular purpose' prong of the Lemon rule, he's quite aware of the problem of advancing a sectarian viewpoint. Particularly when there is government compulsion such as mandatory school attendance.

If (and when) a case challenging Lemon gets to the court, I suspect the fundamentalist fantasies of Justice Thomas are going be disappointed.

Something about enumerating your barnyard fowl comes to mind...

579 posted on 04/20/2006 2:22:13 PM PDT by dread78645 (Evolution. A dying theory since 1859.)
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