ANAHEIM HILLS : Twin Ex-Cub Scouts’ Version Is Disputed

Twin boys who claim that they did not have to say the word God in the Cub Scout oath while members of a Culver City den are mistaken, their former den leader testified Thursday.

The 10-year-old Anaheim Hills twins, William and Michael Randall, are suing the organization, alleging religious discrimination. The boys have said that they were not required to swear an oath to God until they joined an Anaheim Hills den.

But Andrew Cohen, who was the boys’ den leader in Culver City, said that the twins never told him they had a problem with saying the word God .

“I certainly would have remembered that if they did,” Cohen said. In fact, Cohen testified, the boys took turns leading the den in the flag salute and the Cub Promise, both of which refer to God.

Cohen said he was surprised when he heard a news report on his car radio about the Randalls’ lawsuit.

“I darn near fell out of my car,” he said. “It floored me.”

Both Randall boys testified earlier in the trial that they approached Cohen and told him they did not believe in God and did not want to say an oath to Him. They testified that Cohen said it was not a problem, telling them that he thought the word God in the oath meant the same thing as “good.”

Cohen, however, testified that it was the boys’ father, James Grafton Randall, who said God meant “good” during a telephone conversation with him after the lawsuit was filed.

“It’s Mr. Randall’s statement that is being misconstrued as my statement,” said Cohen, adding that he did not give the boys permission to bypass the “duty-to-God” requirements.

During a court break after Cohen’s testimony, James Randall said the former Culver City den leader was “lying through his teeth.”

Earlier in Thursday’s proceeding, the judge hearing the non-jury trial in Santa Ana scolded attorneys on both sides, contending that they were delving into irrelevant issues and dragging out the month-old trial.

“This has gone on for too long,” Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard O. Frazee Sr. told the attorneys. “If I sound a little upset, it’s because I’m getting a little upset.”

Nearly two dozen witnesses and several hundred exhibits have been introduced during the case. The defense said that they still have at least a dozen witnesses to go.

Frazee admonished attorneys to focus their arguments on issues that will help decide the case, which he said will have statewide implications.

Since the case began Nov. 20, the Randalls have contended that they have been illegally expelled from the organization because of their views on God.

Attorneys for the Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts of America argue that admitting atheists into the organization would go against its fundamental principles and violate its constitutional right of freedom of association.