Penn. county seal on trial at Third Circuit Third Circuit Court to decide if religious imagery used to convey history must be censored

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, will be in court on Friday, September 7, defending its official seal from a lawsuit by a militant atheist organization that wants to strip a religious image from the seal despite its historic significance. In FFRF v. Lehigh County, the Wisconsin-based atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation sued Lehigh County arguing that the image of a cross on its seal must be removed to avoid establishing Christianity as the official County religion. The seal, which has been in use for more than 70 years without any controversy, features a cross recalling the County’s early German settlers who fled persecution in their homeland for religious freedom in America, as well as a dozen other images representing important aspects of the County’s rich history and culture. Becket is representing the County before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which will decide whether the law requires stripping religious symbols from the public square, despite their historical, cultural, or artistic significance.  

What:
Oral Argument in Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Lehigh County

Who:
Eric Baxter, senior counsel at Becket

When:
Friday, September 7, 2018 at 9 a.m. EST

Where:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
601 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19106
Maris Courtroom

A Becket attorney will be available for comment immediately following the hearing and will give a statement on Twitter live.

For more information or to arrange an interview with a Becket attorney, please contact Melinda Skea at media@becketlaw.org or 202-349-7224. Interviews can be arranged in English, Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.