New York, USA - All Olivia Turton wanted to do was sing one of her favorite songs at her school talent show.
So when school administrators forbade her from singing "Awesome God," saying the song's lyrics amounted to preaching, Olivia's parents sued, saying their daughter's First Amendment rights were violated.
On Monday, a federal court judge agreed, finding that the song was a "private speech" by a student and not a message conveyed by the school.
U.S. District Court Judge Freda L. Wolfson said the Frenchtown Elementary School talent show was open to the entire Frenchtown community and was not part of the school's curriculum. Participation was not mandatory, and no grades were handed out to those who took part.
And the event, hosted by a local pastor, took place after school, the judge noted.
Olivia, now in the fourth grade, plans to sing the song in the next talent show, her attorney, Demetrios K. Stratis, said Tuesday.
Her mother, Mary Ann Turton, was thrilled when she learned of the federal court ruling, handed down Monday in Trenton.
"We're really excited, thrilled for the victory," Turton said from her Frenchtown home.
It has been more than a year since Olivia first proposed singing "Awesome God" by the late singer/songwriter Rich Mullins at the "Frenchtown Idol" — the school's version of Fox's "American Idol."
She chose the song after she couldn't find a karaoke version of "Part of Your World" from "The Little Mermaid" movie. So she chose "Awesome God" instead, a song on a children's CD Olivia owned.
"She loves the song," Stratis said. "She chose it because she liked it."
But the school disagreed and said Olivia would be proselytizing. Officials had said she couldn't sing it. One verse has these lyrics: "Our God is an awesome God/He reigns from heaven above/with wisdom, pow'r and love/Our God is an awesome God."
"To suggest that a little 9-year-old is proselytizing is ludicrous," Stratis said.