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Jesus Poster Case Can Go to Trial NewsMax.com Wires The U.S. Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court ruling that tossed out a lawsuit from a kindergarten student whose poster was censored because it contained a picture of Jesus.
The case may now proceed to trial – and could end up before the Supreme Court.
The case began in 1999, when Antonio Peck attended kindergarten in Syracuse, N.Y., at the Baldwinsville Elementary School.
His teacher instructed the class to draw a poster showing how the students feel about saving the environment, according to a release from Liberty Counsel, which represented Antonio.
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The boy's first poster contained several religious figures and the following statement: "The only way to save the world."
Antonio was expressing his belief that God was the only way to save the environment. This poster was rejected.
Antonio's second poster contained various cutout figures and other artistic work. Some of the figures on the right side included children holding hands circling the globe, people recycling trash into a recycle bin, and children picking up garbage.
On the left side of the poster was a bearded man wearing a robe kneeling with two hands stretched toward the sky. To Antonio, this figure was Jesus, although the figure was not identified.
This poster was displayed for half a day on the cafeteria wall along with 80 other student posters. But school officials folded Antonio's poster in half so that the figure of Jesus could not be seen.
When school officials refused to change their decision, Liberty Counsel filed suit over the second poster.
In 2000, a federal trial court ruled that the school had the right to censor the poster because of "church and state" concerns.
Then on March 28, 2001, a unanimous federal court of appeals reversed the decision and sent the case back to the trial court. Last year the same federal trial court again ruled for the school.
Now the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled in favor of Antonio and reversed the decision.
The court held that a trial was necessary to determine whether the poster was censored because of its religious viewpoint, and ruled that viewpoint discrimination is forbidden, even in the public school classroom context.
Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel for Liberty Counsel, stated: "I'm elated with the decision. Now Antonio will have his day in court.
"The school humiliated Antonio when the teacher folded his poster in half so that the cutout drawing of Jesus could not be seen. To allow a kindergarten poster to be displayed for a few hours on a cafeteria wall, along with 80 other student posters, is far from an establishment of religion.
"To censor the poster solely because some might perceive a portion of it to be religious is an egregious violation of the Constitution."
Editor's note:
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