Appeals Court Revives Dispute Over Goddess Statue

An activist's criticism of the University of North Dakota's legal aid clinic was not a proper reason for its refusal to help him challenge a "pagan" statue atop a county courthouse, a federal appeals court says.

"We have said flatly, in light of fifty years of Supreme Court precedents, that denial of participation in a state-sponsored program based on the (person's) beliefs or advocacy is unconstitutional," the court said in an opinion Thursday.

Martin Wishnatsky had sought assistance from the UND law school's Clinical Education Program to prepare a lawsuit against Grand Forks County for displaying a statue of Themis, the Greek goddess of justice and order, atop the county courthouse. The statue has been there for decades. Full Story

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