$173,000 In Fees Sought In Rhode Island Prayer Banner Case

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Lawyers for the 16-year-old Rhode Island atheist who sued over a prayer banner displayed at a public high school are asking a court to order the city of Cranston to pay $173,000 in attorneys' fees.

The request was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Providence by lawyers retained by the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The lawyers sued Cranston and its school committee on behalf of Jessica Ahlquist, a junior at Cranston High School West.

Earlier this month, a judge ordered the removal of the banner. The school committee has not decided whether to appeal the ruling.

The ACLU says Ahlquist is entitled to $25 in damages. The group also says the $173,000 request does not cover all the time spent on the case.

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Comments

[Scientia Perceptum]

07:18 PM on 02/07/2012

When you read the "info" at the cowardly Anti Jessica Ahlquist FB page now titled "Atheism is a Mental Disorder" you will should ask yourself the question..."Would a PATRIOTIC person who SUPPORTS the constitution let the banner exist for so long? Why did no Christian demand the banner to be taken down as it violated the 1st Amendment?"

How Un-American of the entire staff and student body of Cranston High School West to let that banner exist for so long. Should we ask the administration of the school to conduct a review of the Social Studies department to make sure they are teaching the Constitution???

[theroc5156]

03:55 PM on 02/02/2012

No worries. Cranston should now raise taxes to cover this cost.

[lastwarning2earth rev14]

07:29 PM on 02/01/2012

I 'm against merging church and state. It only leads to persecution.
I'm a staunch christian too, but everybody has got to have free will..

[Abnormal Wrench]

01:39 PM on 02/01/2012

That is an amazingly small amount, the ACLU heavily discounted it. I'm not sure if they should have. Part of the value of these court cases is to make it very painful when the school boards double down on such obviously unconstitutional actions.

[myzelf]

12:08 PM on 02/01/2012

The school had the option of complying with the law by removing or altering the banner, INSTEAD of spending hundreds of thousands on a lawsuit. It decided that wasting the community's money was more important. It's currently debating whether to waste even MORE of the community's money.

[Grada3784]

11:59 AM on 02/01/2012

Unbelieveable.