Missouri Church Aid Case Will Be Heard by the Supreme Court

Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia would like to get public funding to improve their preschool playground. After their application to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources was denied, they sued in federal court, claiming that they had been discriminated against. They lost in that trial but appealed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which also ruled against them. In January 2016, the Supreme Court agreed to hear their case, and it has now been scheduled for arguments on April 19.  The details of the case are described in Church and State: http://au.org/media/press-releases/mo-church-has-no-right-to-taxpayer-funds-americans-united-and-allies-tell-us. The most recent development is that Missouri Attorney General Hawley has appointed James Layton, who served under previous Attorney General Koster to defend Missouri’s Blaine Amendment.