BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Three federal employees this week asked U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott to dismiss a suit attacking the constitutionality of Christmas as a federal holiday.
If challenger Richard Ganulin wins, the trio said, they will lose a paid holiday, a day they attend church and spend with their families.
If Judge Dlott refuses to dismiss the case, they want to have a voice in the proceedings.
The motions to dismiss and intervene came from Jeffrey Niemer and Patty Hempstead, both deputy U.S. marshals in Cincinnati, and Anne Dolan, an Army civilian employee in Virginia.
The motions, filed by attorney J. Steven Justice, offer two arguments:
Mr. Ganulin's complaint should be dismissed because he has suffered no injury and therefore lacks standing to bring his suit. Federal employees should be allowed to intervene because no one else will protect their interests.
They also said Mr. Ganulin, a lawyer who represents himself, consented to their intervention if Judge Dlott agrees.
The trio also asked permission to amend their motion to intervene if the judge grants Mr. Ganulin's request to add a 14th Amendment equal-protection argument to his 1st Amendment church-state separation complaint.
