Sodrel: Prayer measure fights 'judicial activism'

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Sodrel: Prayer measure fights 'judicial activism'

By Bill Ruthhart, Indianapolis Star, February 22, 2006

U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-Ind., said Tuesday he is confident Congress would vote to strip federal courts of jurisdiction over the content of speech in state legislatures.

Sodrel introduced a bill last week that would do just that after U.S. District Judge David Hamilton's ruling in November that banned prayers during Indiana House proceedings from mentioning Jesus Christ or endorsing any particular religion.

The legislation also would make it impossible for Hamilton's decision to be enforced because it prohibits the use of federal funds to carry out court decisions on speech in state legislatures.

"If the federal court can regulate any speech in the state legislature, then it follows that they could regulate all speech," Sodrel said. "This is a clear example of judicial activism in Indiana. It threatens to spread across the nation."

Daniel Conkle, a law professor at Indiana University, said the bill is unconstitutional. The legislation, he said, would take the unprecedented step of hampering a federal judge's ability to carry out the verdict of an already-decided case.

House Speaker Brian C. Bosma, R-Indianapolis, is appealing Hamilton's decision in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sodrel, who is up for re-election this year, said his bill already has 33 co-sponsors in the U.S. House, all Republicans. The bill would not allow federal courts or the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on issues related to the content of speech in state legislatures.

Sodrel's bill also would provide immunity for speech during a legislative session by a legislator or "lawfully invited guest."

"I'd be shocked if this is anything more than election-year grandstanding," said Ken Falk, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which filed the lawsuit that resulted in Hamilton's decision.

"I think this will go nowhere."

In a Statehouse news conference Tuesday, Sodrel argued he was exercising the legislative branch's right to issue checks and balances on the judicial branch.

Before Hamilton's ruling, prayers were conducted from the speaker's lectern in the House. Since the decision, lawmakers have gathered in the back of the chamber for prayer before official business begins.

U.S. Rep Dan Burton, R-Ind., a co-sponsor of the bill who joined Sodrel at Tuesday's news conference, said Hamilton's decision has thrown "the moral foundation of this country to the back of the bus."

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