Bremerton, Washington

Three years after the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the case allowing former assistant football coach Joe Kennedy to pray on the field is reshaping how courts interpret the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. Kennedy prayed once more after the ruling in 2023, then left coaching and moved to Florida, but the legal precedent has outlasted his return.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals cited Kennedy 112 times in a narrow April ruling upholding a Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments in public classrooms, treating the case as the new standard for measuring religious establishment against founding-era practice. More than two dozen Texas families have since asked the Supreme Court to hear a challenge to that law. Separately, Kennedy testified before the Trump administration's Religious Liberty Commission, which cited his case as a landmark win for religious liberty and recommended the Justice Department clarify church-state separation standards. Legal experts say the shifts could extend to school prayer, public funding of religious organizations, and employment rules at religious institutions receiving government subsidies.

Washington's Legislative Ethics Board has dismissed a complaint against Democratic state Rep. Tarra Simmons of Bremerton, finding she did not violate ethics rules while trying to dissuade fellow Democrat Daria Ilgen from challenging her in the primary. The board ruled it was not improper for a legislator seeking re-election to ask a potential opponent not to run, and found insufficient evidence Simmons used her office to pressure Ilgen. The complaint, filed by 23rd Legislative District Democrats chair Val Torrens, cited text messages in which Simmons urged Ilgen to reconsider and enlisted several elected officials to speak with him. Ilgen said he stands by raising concerns about the conduct even while respecting the board's decision. Simmons went on to defeat Ilgen in the primary; the two now face off in November's general election.

Separately, in an unrelated matter, the same board fined Simmons $15,000 for improperly steering public funds to a nonprofit employer and retaliating against the original complainant. Simmons denies wrongdoing and plans to appeal.