CLARKSBURG (WV)
WV News

July 24, 2020

By Matt Harvey

https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/west-virginia-supreme-court-to-take-up-church-and-state-question-in-lawsuit-against-wheeling/article_f491dc8a-9655-5bf3-9f62-b2e167de100c.html

Charleston WV – The state Supreme Court will hear arguments Sept. 22 on whether a consumer protection lawsuit can move forward against the state’s only Roman Catholic diocese.

At the heart of the issue: Whether the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office under the Consumer Credit and Protection Act is a violation of the separation of church and state doctrine in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Wood County Judge J.D. Beane, who’s presiding over the case at the circuit court level, has ruled Morrisey’s lawsuit opens too much potential for violation of separation of church and state. However, Beane stayed his order granting the diocese’s motion to dismiss Morrisey’s lawsuit and sent the matter to the state Supreme Court as a certified question.

The state Supreme Court’s ruling might not be the end of…