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Montgomery County Sentinel
Rockville, Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Maryland
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Roy R. Torcaso of Wheaton, MD, received his notary public commission after a two-year Supreme Court battle over refusing a religious oath, with the Court ruling against forced religious professions. Sworn in by the same clerk who denied him in 1959.
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After a two-year legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court, Roy R. Torcaso of Wheaton has received his notary public's commission.
Torcaso, who lives at 3708 Brightview st., was sworn in last week by Circuit Court Clerk Clayton K. Watkins, the same man who refused to issue the commission in June, 1959, when Torcaso objected to swearing he believed in God.
Watkins was supported by the Montgomery County Circuit Court and the Maryland Court of Appeals. The case then went to the Supreme Court, which upheld Torcaso's contention that "neither a State nor a Federal government can constitutionally force a person to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion."
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Location
Wheaton, Montgomery County, Maryland
Event Date
June 1959 (Refusal); Last Week (Sworn In, After Two Year Battle)
Story Details
Roy R. Torcaso, after refusing to swear belief in God for notary commission in June 1959, won a two-year legal battle upheld by the Supreme Court, which ruled governments cannot force religious belief professions, and was sworn in last week by the same clerk who initially refused.