By Mitchell Banks | The Tribune
For The Republic
SEYMOUR — The privately owned Nativity scene that has appeared on the lawn of the Jackson County Courthouse nearly every holiday season since 2003 is constitutional, according to the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
A three-member panel issued that 2-1 ruling Tuesday in the case of Rebecca Woodring v. Jackson County.
During a Jackson County Commissioners meeting held just hours after the ruling, commissioners President Matt Reedy announced the county had won its appeal.
Commissioner Drew Markel spoke for a moment before meeting proceedings to acknowledge the ruling.
“In a world where the Constitution is just getting put in a paper shredder, Jackson County actually stood up for what was right and took these people to the carpet and decided to do what was right for the people of this community,” he said.
“I just hope that this case will allow others that are bullied and threatened just like we were by these two different groups, they’ll stand up for their communities, as well, and take these people to court and get these judgments that we just got because this judgment is correct,” he said.
The two groups referenced by Markel are the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which represented Woodring, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which initially wrote a letter against the Nativity scene to the commissioners.
In the ruling, the court concluded the Nativity scene owned by the Brownstown Ministerial Association and cared for by the Brownstown Lions Club is constitutional because the court concluded the county’s Nativity scene fits within a long national tradition of its use in broader holiday displays to celebrate the origins of Christmas — a public holiday.
That ruling reverses a May 1, 2020, ruling by federal Judge Tanya Walton with the New Albany division of the Southern District of Indiana that the Nativity scene was unconstitutional because it violated the civil rights of Seymour resident Rebecca Woodring and needed to be removed.
Markel also spoke on the ruling at the end of the commissioners meeting, talking about why the commissioners felt compelled to fight this case.
“I really think this Nativity scene and how we as a county decided when we first saw this come through, we could’ve just gave up and taken the Nativity scene down. We were threatened with the idea that millions of dollars would be spent, the county would have to pay,” he said.
Markel said many groups came out in support of the county, and it was an “intense” time when the suit was brought against the county.
He thanked county attorney Susan Bevers, Reedy, Commissioner Bob Gillaspy and everyone else involved in the case on behalf of the county for their help.
Markel also offered a recommendation regarding the court ruling.
“I would just ask that everyone take the time to read the brief and read the article and read the complaint levied against the county because it was garbage,” Markel said. “It never should’ve gone anywhere, and it didn’t. But if we would’ve given up and not filed an appeal and not taken it to the Seventh Circuit, we would’ve been without a Nativity scene.”
For people who feel “that no one ever stands up to something or fights for what it right,” Markel said the Nativity scene will stay in Jackson County “until somebody decides to try to fight us again.”
“I just can’t say enough about everyone that took part in that and helped protect the county and the constituents of this county that wanted to see that holiday display in front of the courthouse,” Markel said.
Woodring filed a lawsuit Dec. 28, 2018, contending the county is promoting Christianity to her and other county residents through the Nativity scene. Woodring is an atheist and believes government should not be involved in religious activity, according to court documents.
Besides the Nativity scene, the display also includes a large lighted Santa Claus, sleigh with reindeer and a group of Christmas carolers, according to Liberty Counsel, which represented the county at no cost.
“This is a great victory that affirms that the Jackson County holiday display does not violate the First Amendment,” Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said in a news release. “The Supreme Court and many federal courts have ruled such displays are constitutional, especially when the display includes other secular symbols of the holiday, and this display in Jackson County is no exception.”
The Nativity scene appeared during the holidays this past year after the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay allowing it to be displayed.
Judge David F. Hamilton cast the dissenting vote in Tuesday’s decision.
“The district court properly enjoined Jackson County’s courthouse lawn display of a Nativity scene that sent a clear message of government endorsement of Christianity,” Hamilton said in the court’s decision. “In reversing, the majority departs from controlling Supreme Court precedent that the Supreme Court itself has left intact. It also overrules directly applicable Seventh Circuit precedent without sufficient reason. I respectfully dissent.”
