ACLU shot down in court; Baptist home continues to receive funding

Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 4/10/2008 4:00:00 AM

The American Civil Liberties Union has lost another round in its ten-year legal battle to stop Kentucky taxpayers from funding care provided by a non-profit Baptist group to at-risk children.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit in 1998 to stop the Commonwealth of Kentucky from paying for part of the services provided by Kentucky Baptist Home for Children. Tim Tracey, litigation counsel for the Christian Legal Society, says the ACLU's argument was a familiar one.
 
"And the ACLU is saying that for a faith-based organization like [the] Kentucky Baptist Home for Children to contract with the state violates the Establishment Clause [and] 'separation of church and state.' So, it's really the same old song and dance they've been doing for years," Tracey points out.
 
This time, however, Tracey says the court gave the liberal legal group an unexpected response, rebuking even its attempt to sue. "The court decided that the ACLU didn't have the legal standing to bring the case," he explains. "So, after ten years of trying to beat back the relationship between the state and the Baptist Home, the court said, 'You, ACLU, you don't even have the right to be here in court to challenge this,'" Tracey contends.
 
The court's ruling was a big deal for the children's home, according to Tracey, because the ACLU was trying to obtain sensitive records about children who formerly lived at the home. He says the judge was able to stop the case before it went too far.
 
Tracey believes the case will be appealed to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "We're very optimistic that we have a good shot on appeal and that this will be a good precedent, not only in Kentucky, but [also] all across the country," Tracey says.
 
If the circuit court agrees that the ACLU does not have standing to sue in this type of case, Tracey says Christian groups that provide taxpayer-funded, secular services could avoid costly litigation in the future.

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