LEXINGTON, N.C. — A district court judge has asked local officials to remove religious references, including oaths that end “so help me God” and a traditional blessing for the state and court, in courtrooms when he presides.
Judge James M. Honeycutt said in a letter that the court system is seeing an increasing number of people who are not necessarily Christian.
“I believe that the burden should not be on those individuals to speak up and request an oath that does not mention God or use the Christian Bible,” Honeycutt wrote.
Honeycutt is one of nine judges who preside over District Court sessions in the 22nd Judicial District, which includes Alexander, Davidson, Davie and Iredell counties. He wrote that his request applies only to his own sessions, not to those presided over by other judges.
Still, the request rankled some in Davidson County, which is already embroiled in a fight over a sign reading “In God We Trust” on its government building.
“It’s totally in opposition to the very basis of our constitution, the very basis for our laws,” said Rick Lanier, a former member of the Davidson County Board of Commissioners and a member of a group that paid to install the sign.
“He’s a judge. He should be subject to complying with the bylaws that we established and founded for our nation,” Lanier said. “Because we are a Christian nation and we’ve been a Christian nation for 300 years, the thing that bothers me is, are we conforming to a minority?”
The county is fighting a federal lawsuit filed last summer by two Thomasville men who want the sign removed, saying it violates the First Amendment because it endorses a particular religious viewpoint. About 18,000 people signed petitions in support of the sign.
In North Carolina courts, witnesses have the option of reciting an oath that ends, “so help me God” or an affirmation that includes no religious references. Similar options apply to witnesses signing affidavits and defendants waiving their rights to court-appointed attorneys.
Bailiffs open each court session with a declaration that ends: “God save the state and this honorable court.”
Honeycutt asked to remove the phrases “so help me God” and “God save the state and this honorable court,” effective April 5.
He said his action was intended to “use an oath that does not ask a person to affirm a Christian religious standpoint to be sworn to testify in court.” He also said it would help speed the process when many people of diverse beliefs need to be sworn in at the same time.
“It’s just much easier,” he said last week after hearing cases in Statesville. “The way I’m going to have them do it is raise your right hand. If a person lies, no matter what oath they’ve taken, they’ve committed perjury.”
Oaths for public officials, court witnesses and other public figures are spelled out in state law. Dick Ellis, a spokesman for the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts, said that state officials are reviewing Honeycutt’s letters.
So is Brian Shipwash, Davidson County’s clerk of court, who opposes the new wording because he believes it violates tradition and detracts from his authority over court clerks.
“We have nine judges in the district, and when one judge goes off on a tangent, you could have nine different rules in nine different courts,” Shipwash said.
Seth H. Jaffe, the managing attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, said the oaths are constitutional as long as witnesses and defendants have a choice, though Honeycutt’s letters weren’t clear about whether they would still have one under his request.
“If someone has a choice one way or the other, then changing the default really doesn’t change the choice,” Jaffe said.