By Jessica Coates and Josh Bergeron

news@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — By a 5-0 count, Rowan County commissioners voted Monday to appeal the latest ruling in their prayer lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The suit, which started in 2013, centers on whether commissioners can offer prayers at the start of meetings. In July, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled by a 10-5 count that commissioners violated the constitution by offering sectarian prayers before the start of meetings. The case is known as Lund v. Rowan County.

Monday’s meeting was called specifically to address whether county commissioners would take their case to the highest court in the land, which can choose not to accept the case.

Approximately 65 people sat in the audience during the meeting. 20 of them spoke during the public comment period.

“We are not proselytizing; we are just praying in the only way that we know how,” said Vice Chairman Jim Greene. “Making someone feel uncomfortable is not coercion.”

In court, Rowan County is represented by the National Center for Life and Liberty, which has brought in a number of attorneys to help on the case.

The North Carolina ACLU represents a group of three Rowan County residents — Nan Lund, Robert Voelker, and Liesa Montag-Siegel.

It’s unclear whether the U.S. Supreme Court will accept Rowan County’s case, but another court case may increase the likelihood of such a decision. A similar case in the 6th Circuit concerning county commissioners in Michigan. In that case, federal judges ruled by a 9-6 count that prayer practices by commissioners were constitutional.

Known as a circuit split, the fact that the courts ruled differently on the same topic may increase chances of the Supreme Court taking the case.

Contact reporter Jessica Coates at 704-797-4222 and associate editor Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.