Judge in Nebraska says thou shalt not sue God

Friday, October 17, 2008

A judge in Nebraska has dismissed a lawsuit that was filed against 'God' saying that no address can be located to serve the higher power the court papers.

"Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be dismissed with prejudice," said Judge Marlon Polk.

Senator Chambers.
Image: State of Nebraska.

In 2007, Nebraska state Senator Ernie Chambers, who represents legislative District 11 in North Omaha, filed the lawsuit on Friday September 18. According to court documents obtained by Wikinews, Chambers had decided to sue God, looking for a judge to issue a "permanent injunction" against the highest power.

Chambers said in his suit that God has spread fear across the globe causing "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants. [God also caused] fearsome floods, horrendous hurricanes, earthquakes, plagues, famine, genocidal wars, birth defects, terrifying tornadoes and the like", and he wants the courts to order God "to cease certain harmful activities and the making of terroristic threats."

Chambers is examining Polk's ruling and has not yet decided if he will file an appeal. Chambers says that "God knows everything", and therefore is well aware of the lawsuit that was filed against the higher power. Chambers also states that the court acknowledged his existence which "is a recognition of God's omniscience."

"The court itself acknowledges the existence of God. Since God knows everything, God has notice of this lawsuit," said Chambers.

If Chambers decides to appeal the decision, he must do so within 30 days of the Judge's ruling.

The suit was an apparent retaliation for a 2007 ruling where the words 'rape' and 'victim' were banned from a criminal case involving a sexual assault incident. The woman who was assaulted, Tory Bowen, filed a lawsuit against Jeffrey Cheuvront, a district judge in the city of Lancaster when he banned the use of those words in her criminal case. Chambers says that her lawsuit is "frivolous" and he filed his suit to show people that "anybody can sue anybody."

"This lawsuit having been filed and being of such questionable merit creates a circumstance where my lawsuit is appropriately filed. People might call it frivolous but if they read it they'll see there are very serious issues I have raised," stated Chambers in 2007.

Have an opinion on this story? Share it!

Related news

"Court papers filed on behalf of God respond to lawsuit by Nebraska Senator" — Wikinews, September 21, 2007
"Nebraska Senator sues God" — Wikinews, September 18, 2007

Sources

Catherine Elsworth. "You cannot sue God... he has no known address" — The Daily Telegraph, October 17, 2008
"Legal case against God dismissed" — BBC News Online, October 17, 2008

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.