Pensacola City Council Executive Don Kraher asked City Attorney Lysia Bowling for her opinion on the invocations at the council meetings. Her reply is gobbledygook (a legal term). Her reply is below. These are the highlights:
She has seen a 2014 legal opinion by Rusty Wells, but didn’t attached it to her email.
Bowling says she understands three things about the invocations:
1. City Clerk has arranged invocations for council meeting “for some time.”
2. The practice of invocations “comports with Supreme Court’s decision in Town of Greece v. Galloway.”
3. The practice has “remained in place without alteration or valid challenge.”
So what’s her opinion? “…it would be beneficial to the City for City Council to request for me in advance me to render a legal opinion on whether any specific proposed change or implementation thereof would be defensible against any potential legal challenge.”
Huh? Isn’t that what Kraher did? The invocation practice was in the news all last week. A pro-active city attorney would have already reviewed the matter, particularly since she knew a special meeting had been called.
According to Councilwoman Sherri Myers, Bowling is out of the country this week.
The Pensacola City Council will hold a special meeting today at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the invocation process. Not sure who will represent the city attorney at the meeting.
———————————
From: Lysia Bowling
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2016 3:06 PM
To: Don Kraher
Subject: Invocation Issue
Thank you for your request yesterday for me to provide a legal opinion relating to the special meeting scheduled yesterday for July 7, 2016 for City Council to discuss invocations for City Council meetings.
As I just became aware of the request yesterday afternoon, I have only been able to conduct a cursory review of the matter and briefly confer with several city attorneys who this morning I was fortunate to succeed in reaching out to on this Friday before the holiday weekend.
I have only begun to inquire into the history of City Council’s current practice of invocations at City Council meetings. Based on the 2014 legal opinion to the City Clerk issued by Rusty Wells, Special Liaison to the City Council, it is my understanding that the City Council’s practice to have an invocation at the beginning of each City Council meeting and for the City Clerk to arrange the invocations has been maintained for some time. As well, it is my understanding from that opinion that this longstanding practice of City Council comports with Supreme Court’s decision in Town of Greece v. Galloway. It is my understanding, as well, that this practice has remained in place without alteration or valid challenge.
Because a change in the current practice might potentially raise significant constitutional issues, it is my view that it would be beneficial to the City for City Council to request for me in advance me to render a legal opinion on whether any specific proposed change or implementation thereof would be defensible against any potential legal challenge.
Thank you,
Lysia H. Bowling