The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear a lawsuit filed by the Madison-based Freedom from Religion Foundation on its legal authority to challenge the religious initiatives of President George W. Bush's administration.
The FFRF claims the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives engages in unconstitutional activities under the First Amendment's Establishment Clause because the Initiatives financially assist regional and national religious conventions with federal dollars.
The lawsuit by the FFRF was stopped short in 2004 when a lower court ruled that taxpayers — including members of the organization who claimed standing as federal taxpayers — do not have the legal authority to challenge executive-branch programs.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled in favor of the FFRF earlier this year, and on Dec. 1, the Supreme Court decided to subsequently hear the Bush administration's appeal.
"It is inappropriate for the government to set up an office for religion," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the FFRF, which is a national non-profit advocacy group for the separation of church and state.
Gaylor believes the organization has a good chance with the Supreme Court by comparing her case with two precedents that acknowledge the taxpayer's standing and differentiate it from a case that does not.
If the Supreme Court upholds the previous ruling and creates a new precedent that taxpayers have the right to challenge the executive branch, University of Wisconsin political science professor Donald Downs said it will most likely be very precise.
"Precedents are not written in stone," Downs added. "But the Supreme Court will have to be careful not to open a floodgate."
In its appeal, Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation, the administration echoed worries that upholding the appeals court ruling would make executive action subject to any taxpayer suit or "generalized grievances."
"Review of this case is warranted because it involves an important question of constitutional law concerning the delicate balance of power between the judicial and executive branches," according to the administration's appeal.
According to its website, www.whitehouse.gov, the administration's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives ensures that federally-funded social services administered by state and local governments are consistent with equal treatment provisions.
Because of the youth of the current Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts, Downs added, it is difficult to predict how the body will rule. In his opinion, however, there has been a trend over the past 20 years toward allowing government to support more religious programs with an overall social goal in mind.
Downs called it the "neutrality doctrine" because the government may promote a religious organization,n but only in a way that may benefit society, such as social service programs.
If the FFRF's standing is denied, Gaylor said the organization will continue to pursue lawsuits against specific appropriations by the administration's Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The organization has won five lawsuits across the country, according to Gaylor, and has four more that are ongoing.
"It's expensive to take these cases," Gaylor added, referring to the Supreme Court case. "But it's an investment in the First Amendment … and our membership understands that."