The privately owned Nativity scene that has appeared on the lawn of the Jackson County Courthouse nearly holiday season since 2003 is constitutional, according to the U.S. Seventh Circuit of Appeals.
A three-member panel issued that 2-1 ruling Tuesday in the case of Rebecca Woodring v. Jackson County.
In the ruling, the court concluded the Nativity scene owned by the Brownstown Ministerial Association and cared for by the Lions Club is constitutional because the court concluded the county’s nativity scene fits within a long national tradition of its use in broader holiday displays to celebrate the origins of Christmas — a public holiday.
That ruling reverses a May 1, 2020, ruling by federal Judge Tanya Walton with the New Albany division of the Southern District of Indiana that the Nativity scene was unconstitutional because it violated the civil rights of Seymour resident Rebecca Woodring and needed to be removed.
Woodring filed a lawsuit Dec. 28, 2018, contending the county is promoting Christianity to her and other county residents through the Nativity scene. Woodring is an atheist and believes government should not be involved in religious activity, according to court documents.
Besides the Nativity scene, the county maintains the display also includes a large lighted Santa Claus, sleigh with reindeer and a group of Christmas carolers, according to Liberty Counsel, who is representing the county at no cost.
The Nativity scene appeared during the holidays this past year after the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay allowing it to be displayed.
Judge David F. Hamilton cast the dissenting vote in Tuesday’s decision.
For more on this story, read Thursday’s edition of The Tribune.