University of the Cumberlands

Friday, April 10, 2009, 2:48 pm

University of the Cumberlands Kentucky Supreme Court     The Kentucky Supreme Court has agreed to hear this case in which several plaintiffs successfully sued Kentucky over its funding of a private, religious college for the construction of a pharmacy school building and the establishment of a scholarship fund.  Judge Roger Crittenden ruled that the 10 million dollar appropriation to construct the pharmacy school building violated §§ 5 and 189 of the Kentucky Constitution because it represented a direct payment of public funds to a religious school for educational purposes.  Judge Crittenden also found that the permanent scholarship fund violated § 51 of the Kentucky Constitution because the General Assembly did not reenact or publish at length various Kentucky laws amended by the provision.     We will be filing an Amicus brief in conjunction with the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State supporting Judge Crittenden’s ruling by focusing on the historical underpinnings of §§ 5 and 189 of the Kentucky Constitution and the framers’ intent in adopting such provisions.