When John Auberger was elected supervisor, in 1999, he instituted formal prayers before the Town of Greece's board meetings. The prayers were lead by a rotating group of clergymen. The practice was legally challenged by two residents in 2008, on the grounds that all prayers offered to open the meetings had, until that point, been Christian ones. After the lawsuit was filed a little more diversity entered the prayers with prayers from a Jewish layman, the leader of a Baha'i assembly and a Wiccan priestess.
The United States District Court, Western District of New York, ruled in favor of the town in 2010, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in 2012, setting the stage for a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. Oral arguments were on November 6, 2013 in a case styled Town of Greece v. Galloway, after Susan Galloway, one of the individuals suing the town.
On May 5, 2014 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Greece reversing the judgment of the lower court.
Sources ![[WWW]](https://rocwiki.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/sycamore-www.png){kind=small}
NPR Supreme Court Case Puts Public Prayer Back In The Spotlight SCOTUS Blog ![[wikipedia]](https://rocwiki.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/inter.png){kind=small}
Town of Greece v. Galloway
