Two San Diego court employees have sued the Superior Court -- and the court is going to lose.

Two San Diego court employees are suing the Superior Court because they say they have been prohibited from holding a lunch hour Bible study in the courthouse.

The federal civil rights suit claims court officials unfairly denied the group's request to meet in an empty courtroom or jury deliberation room.

The court can ban outside groups from using court facilities -- as long as they ban all outside groups. The government cannot pick-and-choose.

Barlow, an official court reporter at the courthouse since 2000, said the group was verbally given permission to meet for Bible study once a week when it first started its meetings.

It wasn't until last spring that the group of about 10 people was abruptly told that its members – including courthouse employees and non-employees – were no longer permitted to meet in the courthouse, Barlow said.

The suit, filed by lawyers with the national religious liberties law firm Advocates for Faith and Freedom, claims that it was only after Barlow asked to see the court's policy that the court adopted a written policy on the use of court facilities by outside groups in November 2006.

When the Bible study group applied to use a courtroom under that policy, its request was rejected. Court officials first said the request was denied because allowing the group to meet would violate the constitutional separation of church and state, according to the suit.

You'd think that in a courthouse, they'd know what the First Amendment actually says -- and what the Supreme Court has said it means. This isn't a close call.

The suit contends the court allows other groups, such as Weight Watchers and the Eagle Scouts [sic], to use court facilities for meetings.

Case closed. The Superior Court loses. Can we stop wasting taxpayer money now?