Bishop Iker and Diocese to Appeal to Texas Supreme Court

Now that Judge Chupp has entered an order severing the case thus far for purposes of appeal, and staying all further proceedings in his court pending such appeal, Bishop Iker and his Fort Worth diocese have announced that their attorneys will file appeal papers directly with the Texas Supreme Court. The rules allow for such a procedure when a case presents a question of statewide import. The Supreme Court can either agree to hear the appeal at once, or refer it to the appropriate Court of Appeals for an initial decision.

"Since all parties agree that the case will come inevitably before the high court, we hope to save both the time and expense of an intermediate appeal as we seek resolution to the litigation brought against us, which has been so distracting from our mission for the past two years," wrote Bishop Iker to his diocese.

As an additional result of the April 5 order, all discovery in the case is now on hold. The plaintiffs' proposed property inspections will not be carried out. Nor will the judge's Feb. 8 order to surrender our property be enforced during this period: Our congregations will not be evicted from their churches for the duration of this process, if ever.

We give thanks for the opportunity to appeal our case, and we continue to pray for our attorneys as we move on to this very important phase of the litigation.

For further background about the issues on the appeal, readers may consult this post, and this one.

Note: earlier, the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh announced that it, too, would be taking an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.