Judge voids Tennessee mosque approval but doesn't stop construction

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Opponents of a mosque being built in Tennessee have gotten a judge to nullify the government decision that approved it but they lost their bid to stop construction immediately.

Rutherford County Chancellor Robert Corlew states in an order released Friday in the Nashville suburb of Murfreesboro that the approval is void because it was taken in violation of the Tennessee's Open Meetings Act. He ruled earlier this week that the county didn't give the public adequate notice of what has become a contentious issue.

The order prohibits further meetings on the mosque without proper notice.

But the decision also says that if the mosque opponents want to halt construction, they must begin a new court action.

The construction has been ongoing during the year-and-a-half the court case has dragged on.