Supreme Court - AA is a religion.

[Guest guest]

Please consider the following. At long last there may be a light at the

end of the tunnel. AA will be shown to be just what it is. Have faith.

AA is for the shallow and weak minded. Don't you feel so sorry for all

those poor sheep.

Forum: the Alcoholism Forum

Subject: AA is " religion " -- US Supreme Ct

From: (UNHOOKED)

To: (ALL)

DateTime: 11/17/99 11:32:02 AM

The US Supreme Court on Nov. 15 let stand a lower federal court's

ruling that

found AA & quot;religious & quot; and awarded a prisoner a symbolic $1 in

damages

for having been compelled to attend AA meetings.

The case arose when Warner, sentenced in Orange County NY on a

DUI, sued

the county probation department for compelling him to attend AA

meetings as a

condition of his probation. He argued that AA meetings were religious

in nature

and that his constitutional rights to be free of an & quot;establishment

of

religion & quot; (state-compelled religion) were violated. The lower

court agreed.

The county appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which

agreed with

Warner. The appeals court sent the case back to the lower court for a

determination of damages. The lower court awarded Warner $1. The county

appealed

that award back up to the Second Circuit, which again affirmed. The

county then

appealed to the Supreme Court, which on Nov. 15 refused to consider the

case.

The Supreme Court's ruling means that Warner gets his dollar and it is

now

settled law in the second federal circuit (NY, CT, VT) that AA is

religious and

that the government cannot compel a person to attend AA without

violating the

constitution.

A news article on the decision is at

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/19991115/pl/court_alcoholics_anonymous_

1.html

The full text of the Second Circuit's long and detailed original

opinion on the

case can be read at

http://www.unhooked.com/sep/warnerny.htm

The full text of the Second Circuit's short second opinion, upholding

the award

of $1 in damages, can be found at

http://www.unhooked.com/sep/warner_remand.htm

A similar case has been decided in the Seventh Circuit court of appeals

(Chicago). The full text of the opinion is at

http://www.unhooked.com/sep/7circopn.htm

A similar case was decided in 1997 in the supreme court of the State of

Tennessee. The opinion is at

http://www.unhooked.com/sep/tennessee.htm

The US Supreme Court's Nov. 15 ruling does not affect the law in

jurisdictions

outside the Second Circuit. The Court may revisit the issue, consider

the merits

and settle the issue nationwide at some time in the future.