Judge Ordered to Restore God Reference

A couple of days ago I wrote about James M. Honeycutt, a district court judge in North Carolina who has insisted on religion-neutral oaths in his court. A complaint was filed against him over this and now the state Supreme Court ordered him to restore God to the oaths.

The Wilmington Star reports:

The high court sided with angry officials from two counties who complained that District Judge James M. Honeycutt had taken it upon himself to change courtroom procedures. The high court ordered Honeycutt to stop using a revised oath missing the phrase "so help you God," and administer the witness oath as spelled out in state law. The court also ordered the judge to allow bailiffs to begin court sessions with a proclamation that includes "Godsave the state and this honorable court."

Brian Shipwash, the Davidson County clerk of court, said a number of court clerks and bailiffs had refused to heed Honeycutt's order. "Basically the judge swore in his own witnesses," Shipwash said. "I think this decision returns this court to the people instead of like a dictatorship of one judge."

Shipwash was prepared to start collecting signatures to have Honeycutt removed from office, so I’m sure he’s happy about this outcome. I’m not sure of the judge has any means for appealing this decision, but it seems unlikely. That would mean that this particular experiment in creating a religiously neutral courtroom has ended in failure. Pity.

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Church and State News
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