Free Republic

By LARRY O'DELL Associated Press Writer RICHMOND, Va. An evenly divided federal appeals court refused Wednesday to reconsider a ruling that group prayers said before evening meals at Virginia Military Institute are unconstitutional. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 6-6 vote leaves intact a three-judge panel's ruling that the state-supported military college's traditional prayers, although nondenominational and voluntary, violated the constitutional separation of church and state. "Put simply, VMI's supper prayer exacts an unconstitutional toll on the consciences of religious objectors," the panel said in its unanimous ruling in April. Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for state Attorney General Jerry...