Great Falls, USA - The town of Great Falls has yet to pay about $53,000 in legal fees to a Wiccan priestess who won a court battle over whether the town should stop using Jesus Christ's name in prayers before council meetings.
Federal Judge Cameron Currie ordered the town to pay Darla Wynne's legal fees, but the town has not decided whether it will appeal Currie's order. The town has until Oct. 15 to make a decision.
Currie reduced the amount the town owed when she cut Wynne's attorney pay rate to $250 an hour from $300.
The council voted Sept. 19 to pay an additional $1,800 for filings, transcripts and other court expenses that was part of the judge's order, said council member J.C. Broom. The council asked town attorney Michael Hemlepp to look over the order and decide how to proceed, Broom said.
Wynne, who practices the Earth-based Wiccan religion, successfully stopped the town from mentioning Jesus Christ in prayers before meetings. Her lawsuit, filed in 2001, played out through federal and appeals courts. The U.S. Supreme Court this summer refused to hear the Chester County town's request for more appeals.
Great Falls' lawyers have already been paid.
Wynne did not sue for damages and will receive no money from the town, said lawyers for both sides.