Facts

In 2000, Irv Rubin sued the City of Burbank to stop the practice of allowing religious leaders to come before City Council for the purpose of delivering an invocation of a sectarian nature (i.e., praying in the name of Jesus Christ). Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Alexander Williams, III ruled in favor of Rubin and against the City and enjoined invocations referring to Jesus Christ.

The City's appeal to the Court of Appeal was affirmed three to zero, Rubin v. City of Burbank, 101 Cal.App.4th 1194 (2002). Burbank's Petition for Review to the California Supreme Court was denied as was its Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, City of Burbank v. Rubin, 538 U.S. 1034, 123 S.Ct. 2091 (2003).

In April 2010, the City of Lancaster placed a measure on the ballot asking whether the City Council should continue its policy of allowing sectarian prayers in the name of Jesus Christ as part of the invocation prior to a City Council meeting. The voters approved a resolution permitting prayers in the name of Jesus Christ at City Council meetings and Irv Rubin's widow, Shelley Rubin, sued the City of Lancaster in May 2010. Rubin sought a declaratory judgment and an injunction. No damages were sought.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs claimed that the policy was unconstitutional in violation of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants asserted that the policy was constitutionally valid pursuant to Marsh v. Chambers 463 U.S. 783 and Pelphrey v. Cobb County 547 F.3d 1263.

Result

The City of Lancaster had the case removed from the Superior Court, which would have been bound by Rubin v. City of Burbank, to the federal district court, where federal district Judge Dale Fischer conducted a court trial on April 26, 2011 and later on July 11, 2011. Judge Fischer rendered judgment for the City of Lancaster, finding that invocations in the name of Jesus Christ did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, Rubin, et al v. Lancaster, U.S.D.C. No. CV 10-4046.

Other Information

Plaintiff Shelley Rubin and Maureen L. Feller filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and filed their Opening Brief on September 1, 2011, Rubin v. City of Lancaster, 9th Circuit No. 11-56318. The City's brief is due on October 1, 2011.