WASHINGTON (AP) - Two of the Supreme Court's most conservative members delivered an unusual public rebuke to more liberal justices Monday, accusing them of ducking an important church-state fight over mealtime prayers at a taxpayer-funded military college.
Justice Antonin Scalia, joined by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, said the court should have taken the case to answer for the first time whether its ban on school-sponsored prayer for young children and high schoolers applies to college students as well.
Scalia delivered a polite but blunt critique of what he suggested are flimsy reasons for avoiding an appeal on behalf of the Virginia Military Institute, which is part of the state's university system.
The VMI case also gave the court an opportunity to rule on the constitutionality of traditional religious observance in military institutions, Scalia said.
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