HOUSTON, Texas (AP) --A federal judge has awarded $1 in damages to a former high school student who secured a restraining order allowing her to pray over a public address system before her school's 1999 home football games.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake ruled last week that former honors student Marian Ward was entitled to the nominal damage amount and attorney's fees.
Ward filed a civil lawsuit in 1999 against the school district in Santa Fe, claiming it violated her constitutional rights by instituting a school policy which would have kept her from praying over a public address system before the games.
School district attorney Philip Fraissinet said the policy was an attempt by the district to comply with a previous ruling in a separate case that pre-game prayers were unconstitutional.
Lake ruled the case filed by Ward was moot. However, her case landed back in his court last year when Lake was asked to rule on what, if any, damages should be awarded.
Santa Fe is about 35 miles southeast of Houston.
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