Judge may rule on 'Holy Scriptures' law
Published: Wed, May. 09, 2007 12:00AM
Modified Wed, May. 09, 2007 02:44AM
E-Mail
Print
tool name
closeRALEIGH -- The issue of allowing court witnesses and others who take oaths to use a holy text other than the King James version of the Bible may be decided in upcoming days after arguments heard Tuesday in Wake Superior Court.
Judge Paul Ridgeway did not issue a ruling in the case, which has been brewing in North Carolina since 2005, but took the arguments under advisement.
The N.C. statutes allow jurors or witnesses in court proceedings to swear on "Holy Scriptures," but courtrooms across the state provide only the King James Bible, acceptable to Christians. The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says the state must allow people who aren't Christian to take an oath on their particular holy text or rule the "Holy Scriptures" law unconstitutional.
More B City & State
Although state statutes allow witnesses or jurors to raise their hand or affirm to tell the truth, the ACLU argues that that discriminates against religious people of non-Christian faiths.
The ACLU sued in Wake County Superior Court two years ago on behalf of Syidah Mateen, a Muslim woman who was denied the option of swearing on the Quran when she gave testimony in a Guilford County courthouse.
Staff writer Yonat Shimron can be reached at 829-4891 or yonat.shimron@newsobserver.com.
Get it all with convenient home delivery of The News & Observer.
The News & Observer is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since The News & Observer does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The News and Observer.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on the exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
