Religious rights groups defend minister placed in jail for quoting Bible to judge

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Benton Harbor, Mich., Mar 20, 2009 / 08:52 am (CNA).- The Washington D.C.-based Becket Fund, a nonpartisan interfaith public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions, announced on Tuesday that a coalition of a dozen religious and civil rights groups have joined in asking a Michigan court of appeals to release a Christian minister accused of “threatening” a judge with a Bible verse.

Rev. Edward Pinkney originally appeared in court for his involvement in fighting the requisition of public lakeshore by Whirlpool Corporation. Pinkney was placed under house arrest, but because he wrote an article in the Chicago-area People's Tribune quoting the Book of Deuteronomy to say that God would punish the judge for his “wrongdoing,” the court decided to send him to jail.

After the article appeared, the trial court judge recused himself. The subsequent judge found that Pinkney's comments were “threatening” and revoked the minister's probation period sending him to prison for three to 10 years.

The civil rights coalition, which includes the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the American Jewish Congress, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and Liberty Legal Institute, among others, filed a friend of the court brief asking the appeals court to overturn the trial court's order.

"The First Amendment was designed to protect ministers speaking religious truth to political power," said Eric Rassbach, the Becket Fund's National Director of Litigation.

"From the colonial preachers who decried British tyranny, to the abolitionist ministers of Massachusetts to Martin Luther King Jr., our country has a proud history of allowing ministers to hold government officials to account. A court can't punish someone for saying that the judge broke God's law."

"Judges don't get to decide whether prophecies are true, even when those prophecies apply to them. Courts should stick to the law and leave theology to people of faith," added Rassbach.

Comments: 6

Subscriber comments:

Published by: Liz
Calgary, Alberta, Canada 09/03/2009 12:34 PM EST

The preacher said that GOD would punish him. I don't know what the issue was in the first place, but if the Bible backs him up, how can he be punished for quoting it, when his livelyhood is based on it? He didn't threaten to punish the judge himself, for crying out loud!

Published by: wm
us 03/23/2009 04:10 PM EST

CNA doesn't report enough details of a story to form a reasoned opinion. If someone uses the Bible as a weapon of intimidation or threat against a judge in an ongoing case, it would be 'contempt.' If the Bible is used to decry a judge's behavior, rulings, etc -- even in an ongoing case -- it's free speech. There's nothing wrong with making "inappropriate comments about the judiciary," especially when that same judiciary determines what comments are 'inappropriate.'

Published by: Walt C.
Dearborn Hts,Mi. U.S. 03/21/2009 05:55 PM EST

What is next? Are we going to send a preacher to jail for life for telling people they are going to "Hell" if they don't repent? Wake up and smell the coffee, quoting from the Bible is NOT a crime. My family shed blood for this country for the right to FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!God Bless America. We need it now more then ever.

Published by: Craig Rickard
Australia 03/20/2009 04:15 PM EST

How clearcut is this.
"A court can't punish someone for saying that the judge broke God's law." I agree.
Pinkney went further than this.
By quoting the Book of Deuteronomy to say that God would punish the judge for his “wrongdoing”, he is now in contempt of court. Pinkney is not above contempt charges.
Pity he didn't leave it to God.

Published by: Dan in Calgary
Calgary Alberta Canada 03/20/2009 02:42 PM EST

This is a little much.

If Mr. Pinkney was quoting the Bible in direct support of a substantive argument that he was making in the requisition action, I doubt that there would have been a problem.

But Mr. Pinkney isn't in trouble for quoting the Bible; he's in trouble for making inappropriate public comments about the judiciary.

If you publicly abuse or threaten a judge presiding over an action to which you are a party, you can be held liable for contempt of court. Whether you use (or misuse) quotes from the Bible, or use (or misuse) other materials to do this doesn't matter.

Our secular society is indeed more frequently taking steps to suppress the Holy Bible, but this is not one of those occasions.

Mr. Pinkney should know that for obvious reasons in favor of a free and independent judiciary in a democracy, it is inappropriate and illegal to pressure them in certain ways.

The quotation of Biblical texts outside the context of valid argument, while intending to denigrate or criticise the judiciary is a misuse of the Bible in pursuit of one's own economic or other ends, and is not an acceptable circumvention of this reasonable limitation.

Dan in Calgary

Published by: Kelsieb
San Diego, CA, USA 03/20/2009 01:49 PM EST

I suppose if "people of faith" (i.e., people who believe things without any rationale; see the dictionary), would stick to "theology" and leave law to the courts, then it would be more likely that courts would "stick to the law and leave theology to people of faith."

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