Source: The Associated Press
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On November 13, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "Chesterfield County officials cannot endorse an official religious preference while excluding other religions from opening board meetings with a prayer, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Court Judge Dennis W. Dohnal ruled that the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors discriminated against Cyndi Simpson, a Wiccan, when it prohibited her from joining a list of clergy to deliver the invocations... The judge said the board violated Simpson's First and 14th Amendment rights of equal and free expression of her religious beliefs, while allowing Christians to practice theirs, and the separation of church and state clauses."