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FT. WORTH: Diocese responds to Supreme Court request
TEC Presiding Bishop is deposed for purposes of discovery
Diocesan Release
Sept 27, 2014
In response to a request by the U.S. Supreme Court to file a brief in response to TEC's June 19 appeal, attorneys for the Diocese and Corporation today filed our 49-page Brief in Opposition. TEC seeks reversal of the Texas Supreme Court's ruling in our favor. Our Brief supports the Neutral Principles approach to church property disputes that was issued by the nation's highest Court in 1979.
Aaron Streett, the diocesan Counsel of Record, offers the following timeline: "We anticipate TEC's reply will be filed by October 14. We anticipate the Court will vote on whether to grant certiorari on Oct. 31. The outcome of that vote could be known as early as that afternoon or the following Monday. It is also possible the Court will "re-list" the case for consideration at future conferences, which could delay the decision."
Similarly, attorneys for the Church of the Good Shepherd in San Angelo have filed a Brief upon the Court's request. TEC and the Diocese of Northwest Texas appealed the Texas Supreme Court's ruling in that case, too.
Presiding Bishop's deposition to be taken
Bishop Iker will accompany our attorneys Shelby Sharpe and David Weaver on a trip to New York City to take the deposition of Katharine Jefferts Schori at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, Sept. 29. Her testimony will be taken in law offices affiliated with our counsel, not in the national church headquarters. Please remember to pray for our lawyers in this discovery process leading to the filing of new Motion for Summary Judgment in the 141st District Court later this fall.
