GAINESVILLE - Attorneys for the Hall County School System have issued an official response to an atheist group's lawsuit that claims the school system violated the US Constitution by allowing football coaches to lead prayer at Chestatee High School.<br />
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Attorney Phil Hartley filed the 24-page response Friday, January 16, the day a response was due. <br />
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The American Humanist Association and three anonymous complainants filed their suit last month. <i>(See story linked below.)</i><br />
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In the response, Hartley denied that the plaintiffs - the Hall County School System, Superintendent Will Schofield and Chestatee High School Principal Suzanne Jarrard - violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, which calls for separation of church and state. Hartley said there would be no more public discussion on the matter.<br />
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"The district believes now that the matter is in court it needs to be handled within the structure and rules of the court, and it's not the intention of the district - and certainly not our law firm - to try the facts or the law in the press," said Hartley on Monday.<br />
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Hartley said the response was filed electronically on Friday, so the AHA should have received the information immediately. He did not speculate on whether the Washington, D.C.-based group would have comment on the School District response.<br />
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Hartley said he believes the legal process will be lengthy.<br />
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"It certainly is a process that will take six to eight months at a very minimum, and likely longer than that," said Hartley.<br />
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