toledoblade.com --

Louis Peters was given a choice. Attend AA meetings or spend 30 days in jail for a drunken driving conviction.

Mr. Peters chose jail.

His reason? Mr. Peters said he is agnostic and Alcoholics Anonymous urges people to give themselves over to a higher power.

He objected to the religious tone of the meetings - so much so that he has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Toledo that contends the Perrysburg judge who sent him to jail violated his constitutional rights by trying to force him into a faith-based treatment program.

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Ohio, Inc., argues on Mr. Peters' behalf that the judge's sentence amounted to a violation of the First Amendment's prohibition against government establishment of religion. Many people commonly refer to this as the separation of church and state.

"We consistently see holdings that the 12-step [Alcoholics Anonymous] program is fundamentally religious," said Raymond Vasvari, legal director for the ACLU's Cleveland office, who spoke for Mr. Peters. "To compel someone to choose between jail and saying he believes in a higher power is a violation of the Establishment Clause [of the First Amendment]."

Perrysburg Municipal Judge Dwight Osterud and Behavior Connections of Wood County, Inc. were named as defendants in the suit.

Judge Osterud, who sentenced Mr. Peters, said he finds the Establishment Clause argument interesting, but doesn't think AA's treatment for alcoholics is a religious program.

"I don't believe the philosophy that there is a higher power that will assist you is necessarily religious," Judge Osterud said. "To my knowledge, AA does not proselytize, they don't necessarily preach. They encourage and give support, but it's not a religious organization."

Mr. Peters, 59, of 7777 West Bancroft St., was arrested by Perrysburg police for driving while intoxicated on Sept. 26, 1999. He was determined to have a .297 blood-alcohol level - nearly three times above the legal limit.

Mr. Peters was sentenced Jan. 11, 2000. Initially, he was sent into a three-day program for first offenders operated by Behavior Connections. After that treatment, it was recommended that he continue treatment through AA, Judge Osterud said.

Based on those recommendations and Mr. Peters' .297 blood-alcohol level, Judge Osterud said he was convinced that Mr. Peters needed more treatment.

When Mr. Peters told Judge Osterud at a subsequent court hearing that he was agnostic - someone who questions God's existence - the judge told him that he wouldn't be the first person with such doubts to enter AA.

Mr. Peters was polite, but steadfast, in saying he was uncomfortable with the program and wouldn't participate.

"That is your choice," Judge Osterud told Mr. Peters in court. "There are consequences to that choice."

He then sentenced Mr. Peters to 30 days at the Wood County jail.

"It was not an easy choice for me to come to," Mr. Peters told the judge.

Mr. Peters' resolve impressed Mr. Vasvari - and helped convince him to take the case.

"He was willing to go to jail before he was willing to violate his personal beliefs," Mr. Vasvari said.

Whether AA is sufficiently religious in its operations to trigger constitutional problems seems to be the key issue in the case. The literature from the organization presents conflicting messages on that point. A brochure produced by its New York office insists that AA "is not a religious organization. All members are free to decide on their own personal ideas about the meaning of life."

Another pamphlet available at the Toledo AA office on Glendale Avenue makes numerous references to God or spirituality. Some of the 12 steps to recovery include statements such as:

"... a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

Members can turn their will "over to the care of God as we [understand] Him."

They should admit "to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of [their] wrongs."

"... through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out."

A member who helps run AA's Toledo office said the organization doesn't require anyone who attends meetings to profess a faith in God.

The woman, who asked that her name not be used in accordance with AA practice, said people who don't believe in God can still participate in AA. The key, she said, is the desire to stop drinking and attend meetings.

"It's a spiritual concept," she said. "A lot of us refer to God as a higher power, but all we ask is that you find a power greater than yourself."

Whether U.S. District Judge David Katz, who was assigned the case, decides the references to God amounts to religion could be the key to Mr. Peters' claim, said Edward Foley, a professor at Ohio State University's law school.

"It sounds to me like a primary issue in this case is whether the content of an AA meeting includes a religious message such that this criminal defendant is told you have a choice between going to jail or going to a meeting that has a religious message," Professor Foley said.

The issue isn't novel. Toledo Municipal Judge Francis Gorman said he isn't aware of any local defendants bringing lawsuits, but he has had people express reservations about AA because of its references to God.

In those cases, Judge Gorman allows people to attend other alcohol programs that don't promote a reliance on God or a higher power as a way of staying sober.

"If someone has a problem with that, I won't send him [to Alcoholics Anonymous]," Judge Gorman said.

Judge Osterud said he hopes sending Mr. Peters to AA will not be deemed unconstitutional. He said many people have told him that their lives have been turned around because he sent them to treatment there.

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