Tanford v. Brand

BARKER, Chief Judge.

Today we must answer a question explicitly left open by the Supreme Court in Lee v. Weisman, — U.S.-, 112 S.Ct. 2649, 120 L.Ed.2d 467 (1992) — namely, whether a member of the clergy may offer prayers as part of a public university’s graduation ceremony consistent with the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. Because Plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a likelihood of their succeeding on the merits, we deny their motion for preliminary injunc-tive relief.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Given the accelerated pace of this suit, the underlying facts are still somewhat…