Town of Greece, New York, Petitioner
Thomas G. Hungar, Counsel of Record
Since 1999, the Town of Greece has allowed its citizens to open monthly board meetings with a prayer. The town contacted local religious communities, assembled a list of interested clergy, and put together a schedule of speakers. In September 2007, two town residents, Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens, began complaining that the pre-meeting prayers aligned the town with Christianity. In February 2008, they filed suit against the town in Federal court, alleging that the prayer policy was a state endorsement of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. After a district court ruled in favor of…
