One of the nation’s highest judges, Justice Elena Kagan, was given the red pen treatment after researchers and court authorities found her dissenting opinion on the recently decided public meeting prayer case contained a historical inaccuracy.
The court was pressed to correct her rebuttal statement for the record books, The Blaze reported.
Ms. Kagan’s version was this: “In 1790, George Washington traveled to Newport, Rhode Island, a longtime bastion of religious liberty and the home of the first community of American Jews.”
The context of her story was that she was trying to argue her point that prayers that invoke one religion’s beliefs over another religion’s beliefs don’t belong in the public arena. But Tablet Magazine writer Yair Rosenberg reported that Ms. Kagan’s account in her dissenting opinion was wrong.
“Kagan made a small miscue in her Jewish history lesson: she labeled Newport as ’the first community of American Jews,’ when that honor in fact belongs to New Amsterdam (today’s New York), where Jews settled in 1654,” he said, The Blaze reported.
Various other researchers confirmed Mr. Rosenberg’s account — and the Supreme Court subsequently corrected Ms. Kagan’s dissenting opinion.
The revised version now states: “In 1790, George Washington traveled to Newport, Rhode Island, a longtime bastion of religious liberty and the home of one of the first communities of American Jews.”
Her dissenting views were part of the Greece, New York, case that questioned whether prayers that were overtly Christian in nature could be offered in the lead up to local government meetings, according to the Constitution. The court, in a 5-4 decision, said yes.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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