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Religious Displays on Public Property

Reports organized by states begin after the special topics.

See also: our page on Roy Moore, whose refusal to remove a Ten Commandments sculpture precipitated his removal as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. (Click here.)

ACLU condemned for 'attacking' veterans memorials during time of war

Jim Brown, OneNewsNow.com, May 25, 2007

A constitutional attorney says instead of thanking American veterans for their service, the American Civil Liberties Union is "dishonoring" them by attacking their memorials across the United States.

The American Legion has announced that it is teaming up with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and Liberty Legal Institute in a campaign to fight ACLU efforts to remove religious symbols from war memorials. The ACLU has already filed suit to remove crosses at veterans' memorials, like the Mt. Soledad cross in San Diego and the Sunrise Rock cross in the Mojave Desert, which is now covered by a box.

At a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Liberty Legal attorney Hiram Sasser accused the ACLU of engaging in "a war against honor and valor." He said it is "inconceivable in a time of war such as now that the ACLU and others would be attacking the memorials, the very symbols of honor and sacrifice of our national heritage. Continue.

D.C. Ten Commandments Display Can Stay

Focus on the Family, June 28, 2006

A Christian organization located across the street from the U.S. Supreme Court can continue to display a Ten Commandments monument in its front garden area. Washington , D.C. , officials earlier this month ordered Faith and Action to remove the Decalogue — but they dropped that order today.

"This letter is to rescind the notice sent to you on 2 June 2006," wrote Lars Etzkorn to the Rev. Rob Schenck, president of Faith and Action. "In view of the First Amendment interests reflected in the installation of the Ten Commandments sculpture at 109 2nd St., NE, and upon further consideration of applicable law, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has concluded you need not seek a permit for the sculpture." Continue

Capitol Hill Ten Commandments Petition Launched

Dane Rose, Christian New Wire, June 26, 2006

Faith and Action, America’s only Christian outreach located across the street from the U.S. Supreme Court, has launched a national petition drive in support of its display of the Ten Commandments. The Government of the District of Columbia has ordered the display to be removed from the organization’s garden in front of its property.Continue

Washington DC: Ten Commandments Monument Could Draw Legal Battle

City Considers Historic Yard Public Property

nbc4.com (Washington, DC), June 9, 2006

WASHINGTON -- District officials are preparing for a legal fight over the Ten Commandments display planted in a front yard across from the Supreme Court building.

The religious group Faith and Action has posted the 850-pound granite monument in the small front yard of its Capitol Hill townhouse headquarters. But D.C. law requires a permit to from the D.C. Department of Transportation to display such markers. Continue

South Carolina and Florida bills would authorize Christian license plate

Americans United Files Lawsuit Challenging South Carolina's 'I Believe' License Plate

News Release with link to Complaint, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, June 19, 2008

Religious Liberty Watchdog Group Says License Plate Violates Constitution By Giving Preference To Christianity

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today filed a lawsuit in federal district court on behalf of several religious leaders and a religious organization whose First Amendment rights are violated by South Carolina’s “I Believe” license plate.

The new plate features the words, “I Believe,” accompanied by a depiction of a large, bright-yellow Christian cross superimposed on a multicolored stained glass church window.

Plaintiffs in the case include four South Carolina clergy the Rev. Dr. Thomas A. Summers, Rabbi Sanford T. Marcus, the Rev. Dr. Robert M. Knight and the Rev. Dr. Neal Jones as well as the Hindu American Foundation. Continue.

ADL Criticizes Passage of Christian License Plate in South Carolina with Letter to Lt. Governor

Letter to Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer from Bill Nigut, Southeast regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, June 17, 2008

Dear Lt. Governor Bauer:
We were disappointed to learn from media reports that you have worked to pass bills – including the "I Believe" license plate and a law allowing for the posting of the Lord's Prayer – in part as a reaction to groups that promote the separation of church and state. Specifically, news reports quote you as saying "[p]eople who support Judeo-Christian values are ever under fire now. It's like they expect folks who are believers just to roll over because they're scared [of pro-separation groups]. "

This report, if true, is disturbing. Your implication that people who oppose government promotion of religion are somehow anti-religious is troubling. It is also incorrect. Continue.

Today's photo: South Carolina weighs 'I BELIEVE' license plates

USA Today, May 22, 2008

This photo by James Moore of Faith in Teaching, via the Associated Press, shows a license plate that is similar to the one that is under consideration in South Carolina.

The House approved legislation yesterday that authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a specialty license plate with "the words 'I Believe' and a cross superimposed on a stained glass window." The vote was 109-0. Continue.

South Carolina Assembly Bill 1329

Bill establishes Christian licence plate

House Bill 1329 May 1, 2008,

Section 56-3-10110. The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue 'I Believe' special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private motor vehicles registered in their names. The plate must contain the words 'I Believe' and a cross superimposed on a stained glass window. The biennial fee for this special license plate is the same as the fee provided in Article 5, Chapter 3 of this title. The guidelines for the production of this special license plate must meet the requirements contained in Section 56-3-8100." Continue.

Cross could adorn state license plates

2 groups oppose religious symbol

Yvonne Wenger, The Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), May 22, 2008

Columbia — The cross could soon grace a state specialty license plate.

But if the Legislature endorses the new plate, which would say "I Believe" across the bottom and carry the image of a cross in front of a stained-glass window, the state could end up in court.

The bill received key approval in the House on Wednesday with a 109-0 vote. A change from the Senate version will send it back to that body before it could go to Gov. Mark Sanford's desk. Continue.

Latest specialty plate rejected

Betty Parker, News Journal (Pensacola), April 25, 2008. Full Text.

TALLAHASSEE -- A late effort to get a religious specialty plate approved was rejected on the Senate floor Friday.

Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, tried to amend onto another bill a plate with the words “I Believe” and a large cross in front of a stained-glass, church-like window.

Proceeds from the plate would go to support faith-based education, she said.

But other members quickly objected, saying the proposed plate did not make it through the required committee process, nor did it follow the required procedures of submitting petitions showing that people are willing to buy it.

Storms argued that the group proposing the plate hired a group to gather petition signatures, and the group hired submitted invalid petitions. The plate’s proponents should not be blamed for that, she said.

But other members said her plate was controversial enough to drag down the bill with other, acceptable license plates on it -- one of which was designated to help raise money t preserve Florida’s lighthouses.

Storms’ amendment, and plate, were rejected on a voice vote. Click here.

Proposed Christian license plate runs into roadblocks in state Senate

Fox 29 News, Associated Press, April 25, 2008

Tallahassee, Fla. (AP) - A proposal to create a new specialty Christian license plate has run into some problems in the state Senate.

The proposed plate would contain a cross, a stained-glass window and the words "I Believe."

The Senate stripped the plate from a bill that would create a series of new specialty tags. Continue.

Instant Editorial: Allow Christian license plates

David Plazas, The News-Press (Cape Coral), April 25, 2008

I’ve got a boring standard Florida license plate — the one with the orange in the middle — and I don’t plan to buy a specialty one.

I’m passionate about many issues, but I choose not to express these ideas on my car.

Yet I do not want to restrict others’ right to do so. Continue.

Christian tag cuts out other faiths

Tom Lyons, Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, Florida), April 27, 2008

If state Rep. Edward Bullard gets his way, there will soon be a Florida car tag that displays the Christian cross and says "I believe."

That would make Florida the first state to sell vehicle tags that promote a specific religion.

Isn't it obvious why that is a bad idea, no matter what your religion? Continue.

Religious right campaigns to keep cross on San Diego's Mt. Soledad

Background. In May 2006, after 17 years of litigation, a federal judge ordered the city of San Deigo, California to take down the towering "Mount Soledad" cross or pay a hefty daily fine. Since then the religious right has been mobilizing support for "saving" the cross.

August 14, 2006. In an attempted end-run around the federal courts, President Bush signed legislation transferring to federal control the property on which the cross stands.

Analysis. The long litigation agonizingly weighed competing First Amendment claims. But to the religious right groups which are rallying to "save" the cross, the court's ruling is a simple matter: they insist that judges should not have jurisdiction over religion-state issues. Right-wing Christian group leaders are also using the situation for indoctrinating their followers with the falsehood that liberals are destroying the nation's "historic Christian foundation."

It is clear that the Christocrats want to make this the "next big thing" since the mobilization to contest the removal of the Ten Commandments sculpture from the Alabama Supreme Court. And we believe it is important to track the Christocrats' efforts -- and their rhetoric.

Mt. Soledad Cross Case Review Denied by California Supreme Court

Jennifer Morehouse, Church Report, February 23, 2007

The California Supreme Court has denied review in an appeal involving the Mt. Soledad Cross. The case challenged the constitutionality of a San Diego ballot initiative in which voters overwhelmingly approved a measure donating the Mt. Soledad Memorial to the Federal Government.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), earlier this month, filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court on behalf of 20 members of Congress. The brief asked the state’s highest court to reject the appeal. "The Petition for Review should be denied because the clear purpose and effect of Proposition A is to preserve a historically significant war memorial, not to proselytize a particular religious viewpoint or coerce any religious activity," the brief concluded. Continue

Fine is ruled moot: U.S. controls land

Greg Moran, Union-Tribune, January 13, 2007

A federal appeals court dismissed the city of San Diego's appeal yesterday of a now-irrelevant $5,000 per day fine imposed by a federal judge in May in the legal fight over the Mount Soledad cross.

In a brief ruling, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the city's appeal was moot because it no longer controls the land that the La Jolla landmark sits atop.

The ruling was not unexpected because of the events after the May 3 ruling in which Judge Gordon Thompson Jr. moved to enforce an order he initially made in 1991. He told the city to move the cross because it violated the state constitution's ban on government aid and preference for religion. Continue

Attorney Expecting More Good News on Mt. Soledad Cross Case

Ed Thomas, Agape Press, December 4, 2006

A public-interest law firm representing parties who have fought to save San Diego's Mount Soledad cross now expects the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule moot a federal district judge's May 2006 order to have the cross removed. That's following last week's decision by a state appellate court that upheld Proposition A -- a 2005 ballot referendum transferring the property to the federal government for a war memorial.

Charles LiMandri is West Coast director of Thomas More Law Center, which represented San Diegans for the Mount Soledad War Memorial in the state court appeal. He says in theory, the legality of the transfer under state law -- combined with the law passed by Congress and signed by President Bush this past summer that federalized the memorial -- should now make the federal district court's injunction and removal order no longer enforceable. Continue

Appeals Court Upholds Ballot Measure to Keep San Diego Cross

Elliot Spagat, Associated Press, December 1, 2006

A state appeals court on Thursday upheld a voter-approved measure that would keep a 29-foot Latin cross on publicly owned parkland atop San Diego's Mount Soledad.

The ballot measure authorized the city to donate the land on which the cross sits to the federal government for a national memorial - an effort sponsored by cross supporters hoping to shield the monument from legal challenges. Proposition A was approved by 76 percent of voters in July 2005.

The 3-0 ruling by the 4th District Court of Appeal overturned a decision by Superior Court Judge Patricia Yim Cowett invalidating the ballot measure for giving "unconstitutional aid to religion." Continue

ACLJ Asks Federal Appeals Court to Dismiss Mt. Soledad Case

Jennifer Morehouse, Church Report, November 20, 2006

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), on behalf of 22 members of Congress, filed an amicus brief to dismiss a case against the City of San Diego concerning the Mt. Soledad cross. The brief asks a federal appeals court to dismiss the case on grounds that the Mt. Soledad memorial and the land on which it sits are now owned by the federal government.

"This is an important opportunity to bring an end to one of the legal challenges aimed at removing the Mount Soledad Memorial," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, which is active in defending the constitutionality of the cross. Continue

Bush's signature transfers disputed San Diego cross to federal government

A giant cross in San Diego that's been contested for 17 years by an atheist became the property of the federal government Monday with President George W. Bush's signature.

Bill Curtis, One Bakersfield, August 15, 2006

A giant cross in San Diego that's been contested for 17 years by an atheist became the property of the federal government Monday with President George W. Bush's signature.

Supporters hope the legislation transferring the 29-foot (8.80-meter) cross and war memorial to the federal government will protect it for good. A series of court decisions have deemed the cross unconstitutional because it stands on public property.

"Just because something may have a religious connotation doesn't mean you destroy it and tear it down," said Rep. Brian Bilbray, a California Republican, after an Oval Office signing ceremony attended by other cross supporters and Republican House members from San Diego who sponsored the bill. Continue

Bush, War Veterans Dive Into San Diego Cross Fight

Allison Hoffman, Forward, September 1, 2006

For the past 17 years, a concrete Latin cross that crowns a picturesque hilltop in La Jolla, Calif., has been the object of a convoluted local legal battle between the city of San Diego and an atheist who contends that the 29-foot monument cannot stand on public land. But this month the legal tussle turned into a national fight, pitting the Jewish War Veterans against the federal government, and splitting Jewish Democrats in California. Continue

President Bush to sign Mt. Soledad Cross legislation

Alison St. John, KPBS (San Diego's National Public Radio station), August 14, 2006

This report, on the day that Bush signed the cross bill, is the most complete of our collection. It notes that San Diego's two Democratic representatives voted against the bill, but, shockingly, California's two senators, Boxer and Feinstein, voted for it. There's a discussion of why Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy issued a stay in July that put on hold a district court's order to take down the cross. Click this link to read or listen to the report.

Bush signs bill; biggest foe expects court ruling soon

Dana Wilkie, San Diego Union Tribune, August 15, 2006

With President Bush's signature on a bill that transfers the Mount Soledad cross to federal control, the 17-year parochial battle over the memorial could become a national cause for supporters and foes of religious symbols on public property.

In an Oval Office ceremony yesterday, the president signed a bill by three San Diego-area congressmen that immediately transfers the war memorial to the U.S. Defense Department in an effort to avoid a court-ordered removal of the cross, versions of which have towered over La Jolla on and off for nearly a century. Continue

Mt. Soledad Cross Federalized

Focus on the Family, August 14, 2006

President Bush today signed into law a bill that transfers ownership of San Diego’s Mt. Soledad War Memorial to the federal government -- theoretically trumping the order of a California judge forcing city officials to remove the historic cross that stands at the center of the memorial. Continue

Maintain the Independence of the Federal Courts!

Oppose transferring the Mt. Soledad Easter Cross to the federal government.

Action Alert from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, July 18, 2006

This week, the House passed H.R. 5683 by a vote of 349-74. There are two identical bills in the Senate, S. 3688 and S. 3683 introduced by Senators McCain and Sessions.

Americans United, which has prepared a letter you can send to your senators, refutes the religious right argument underpinning the bill that the cross memorializes war dead. "[V]eteran’s memorials should honor all veterans and not favor the religious symbols of some veterans. A cross – the primary symbol of the Christian religion – cannot memorialize the Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, atheist and other non-Christians who gave their lives for this country." Click here to take action.

House OKs plan to keep cross on Mount Soledad

Vote moves issue to federal arena

By Dana Wilkie, Copley News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, July 20, 2006

WASHINGTON – In a move that eventually could trigger a test of church-state separation provisions in the Constitution, the House agreed yesterday to transfer the land beneath San Diego's Mount Soledad cross to the federal government.

After a brief debate, House members voted 349-74 to seize the land and give it to the Defense Department in an effort to avoid a court-ordered removal of the 43-foot-tall cross. Continue

U.S. House Calls for Gov't to Acquire Mt. Soledad Memorial

Congressman Hunter's Bill to Save the Memorial Passes by Wide Margin

By James L. Lambert, Agape Press, July 20, 2006

SAN DIEGO, CA (AgapePress) - In a stunning defeat for the ACLU, the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed H.R. 5683, which "provides for the immediate acquisition of the [Mt. Soledad Veterans] Memorial by the United States" government. The bill, which required a two-thirds majority, passed 349-74. Continue

U.S. justice issues stay on Aug. 1 removal date

By Greg Moran, San Diego Union-Tribune, July 4, 2006

The legal battle over the Mount Soledad cross took another turn yesterday when a U.S. Supreme Court justice temporarily blocked a court order in which the city of San Diego must remove the La Jolla landmark by Aug. 1 or face a $5,000 daily fine.

Supporters of preserving the Mount Soledad cross prayed at the La Jolla landmark yesterday. Both sides of the bitter debate predictably disagreed over the meaning of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's two-paragraph order. Continue
For additional reports on the Mt. Soledad cross, click here.

Colorado

Colorado: Disputed artwork headed back to Delta rec center

Katharhynn Heidelberg, Daily Press (Montrose, Colorado), June 6, 2006

DELTA — A dispute between Montrose artist Sharon Marolf and the city of Delta over religious artwork has been resolved, according to an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund.

Brett Harvey of the Arizona-based legal organization that seeks to safeguard religious freedom said Monday Delta had agreed to restore Marolf’s paintings to the Bill Heddles Recreation Center. They had been removed in February over concerns that Christian references in them could spur demands for the display of more religious artwork, some of which could be offensive to mainstream spiritual beliefs. Continue

Florida

ACLU sues over Dixie monument

By KAREN VOYLES, Gainesville Sun, February 8, 2007

CROSS CITY — The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida announced Wednesday that it has filed a federal lawsuit to force Dixie County to have a monument bearing the Ten Commandments removed from the courthouse steps in Cross City. Continue.

Georgia

Georgia: Legislation would protect display of 10 Commandments

By Nancy Badertscher, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 2, 2006

"The Georgia House overwhelmingly approved legislation today that authorizes local governments to display the Ten Commandments in public buildings...

"Two House members, who represent Barrow County, sponsored the bill after the Barrow County Commission was sued by the ACLU over a copy of the Ten Commandments that was posted at the local courthouse in Winder. A judge ordered the plaque taken down last July, and the county did not appeal. Click here to read the report.

Kentucky Jewish leaders speak out on Christian displays

Kentucky Jewish leaders chide legislators for their preoccupation with religion

Interview with H. Philip Grossman, a leader of the Louisville Jewish community

by JewsOnFirst, April 14, 2006

The Community Relations Council of the Jewish Community Federation of Louisville wrote to the members of the Kentucky General Assembly late last month, expressing concern that, with pressing issues of public welfare to address, "our elected officials appear to be increasingly preoccupied with matters of religion and personal faith, at the expense of taking care of the business of government." Their statements came as Kentucky passed a law mandating religious displays and against a background of other explicitly Christian state actions. We interview H. Philip Grossman, one of the statement's authors. Click here

Kentucky: Commandments bill gets final passage

Measure would return marker to Capitol grounds

By Peter Smith and Elisabeth J. Beardsley, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), March 11, 2006

The Kentucky House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on March 10th to return a representation of the Ten Commandments monument to the Capitol grounds and post "In God We Trust" in the House chambers. The state senate passed a similar measure on March 1st. The ACLU had obtained a court order removing the display. Click here to read the report.

Idaho

'Referendum' on God's Word Slated for Tuesday in Boise

By Allie Martin, AgapePress, November 3, 2006

The first vote on the public display of the Ten Commandments takes place in one Idaho city next week.

More than 40 years ago, a civic group donated a Ten Commandments monument to the city of Boise. That monument stood in a public park until it was removed in 2004 by city officials who refused to allow residents to vote on the issue. But on Tuesday (November 7), Boise voters will decide the fate of a referendum that, if approved, would return the monument to the park.

Brandi Swindell with the Keep the Commandments Coalition says the vote is actually a referendum on God's Word. "We believe this is about cherishing the values and the principles found in the Ten Commandments," she shares. "This is about embracing the universal truths found in the Ten Commandments." Continue.

Group asks Idaho high court to allow commandments initiative

Associated Press, December 12, 2005

If citizens are allowed to vote on whether a Ten Commandments monument should be returned to a city park, then all administrative decisions by local governments - from replacing playground equipment to pruning park trees - could be subject to voter reversal, the Idaho Supreme Court was told late last week. Continue

Voters, Not Judges, Will Determine Fate of Commandments Monument

Allie Martin, Agape Press, August 15, 2006

Idaho's highest court has ruled that voters in the state's capital will able to decide whether they want a Ten Commandments monument in a public park. Continue

Illinois

Jewish leaders upset by cross at Daley Plaza

Also object to holding Easter service there

Art Golab, Chicago Sun-Times, April 7, 2007

A 19-foot-tall cedar cross erected on Daley Plaza on Good Friday by several Christian denominations crosses the line between church and state, according to two Chicago Jewish leaders.

"It's totally inappropriate," said Rabbi Ira Youdovin, executive vice president of the Chicago Board of Rabbis.

"The motive here is clear, that it is an effort to bring religion literally into the public square. Not religious values, but religious symbols and services."

He added the Easter installation differs from Christmas, when Jewish and Muslim symbols are also present on the Plaza. Youdovin particularly objects to a Sunday sunrise service to be held at the site.

But Thomas Brejcha of the St. Thomas More Society said it's just an expression of free speech. "The First Amendment guarantees the right of public profession of your religion. It doesn't have to be kept in the closet."

Brejcha said he had no trouble obtaining a permit.

Emily Soloff of the American Jewish committee also objected. "We separate church and state in this country for good reason, and to me this crosses the line."

Chicago officials set up crucifix in downtown plaza citing religious freedom

Associated Press, International Herald Tribune, April 6, 2007

Chicago: A 19-foot (6-meter) cedar crucifix has been set up in downtown Chicago, months after city officials said they did not want to offend non-Christians at a holiday fair in the same location by airing a trailer of a movie about Jesus.

City officials approved a permit Wednesday for the cross, which was up in a central square on Good Friday and will remain in place for a sunrise prayer service on Easter Sunday.

"The idea we want to get across is that Daley Plaza is a public forum where people can express ideas, and if they can do that for political ideas, they should be able to do it for religion, too," said attorney Thomas Brejcha, one of the planners of the cross display. "People are free to speak and express their faith." Continue

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Commandments Display Sends Message Of Religious Intolerance, Says Americans United

Haskell County Display Is Divisive And Should Be Removed, Insists Church-State Watchdog Group

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, News release, February 1, 2007 via Common Dreams

WASHINGTON - February 1 - Religious Right organizations are using governmental displays of the Ten Commandments to project a message of religious exclusion and intolerance, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told a federal appeals court.

Observes the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “The Religious Right is using a sacred religious symbol as a weapon in the culture war. It’s demeaning to religion, deeply divisive in a diverse nation and clearly unconstitutional.” Continue.

Commandments monuments erected in 2 Okla. counties

By The Associated Press via First Amendment Center, August 18, 2006

COALGATE, Okla. — Two new monuments engraved with the Ten Commandments are being erected in southeastern Oklahoma.

A partially built monument near the Coal County Courthouse was recognized on Aug. 16 by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, who also visited nearby Atoka County to dedicate its Ten Commandments display on the courthouse lawn. Continue

Court's Ten Commandments Statue Stays

Federal Judge Rules Haskell County Did Not Violate Constitution

AP, CBS News, August 19, 2006

OKLAHOMA CITY, Aug. 19, 2006 (AP) A federal judge on Friday said a Ten Commandments monument outside a courthouse can stay, rejecting arguments that it promotes Christianity at the expense of other religions.

U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White in Muskogee ruled that Haskell County did not violate the Constitution by erecting the monument. The county did not "overstep the constitutional line demarcating government neutrality toward religion," he wrote. Continue

Judge Rules for Ten Commandments Monument

August 18, 2006

The Mainstream Baptist blogs on Talk2Action about Judge White's disparagement of his expert testimony in the case.

Last May, as the Judge was making closing remarks in this case, he ridiculed my expert opinion report quoting this sentence: "The monument serves as advance notice that the successful struggle to secure equal respect under the law for persons of all minority faith traditions is in danger of being reversed." Then Judge White said, "That is for me to decide."

Read the posting at Talk2Action.

Oklahoma: Trial: Ten Commandments: Judge will rule on monument this month

Outside the courtroom, both sides expressed confidence in their arguments.

By Michael Smith, Tulsa World, May 3, 2006

The ACLU sued Oklahoma's Haskell County, seeking removal of a Ten Commandments monument placed on the courthouse grounds because it favors one religion -- Christianity. Click for the report

Tennessee

ACLU-TN applauds Ten Commandments settlement

By George Barrett and Ted Carey, The Daily News Journal, (Murfreeboro, Tennessee), January 12, 2007

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee today welcomed the settlement reached with the Rutherford County Commission concerning the posting of the Ten Commandments as part of "Foundation of American Law and Government" display in the Rutherford County Courthouse.

According to an ACLU news release, in September the Federal Court declared that the County Commission had violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment when they posted the Ten Commandments in the courthouse. In the settlement approved last night, the County Commission accepted the Court's ruling and agreed to pay attorneys fees and costs. Continue.

Settlement of Commandments suit to cost Rutherford $50,000

The Tennessean, January 12, 2007

MURFREESBORO -- Rutherford County will pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit over posting the Ten Commandments in its courthouse.

The Rutherford County Commission voted Thursday night to settle the suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee. In September, a U.S. District Court found that the commission had violated the First Amendment by posting the Ten Commandments in the courthouse in 2002. Continue.

Texas

Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Bible Display At Texas Courthouse

Americans United Hails Decision For Upholding Government Neutrality Toward Religion

News release, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, August 16, 2006

A federal appeals court has held that a Bible display outside a Texas county courthouse violates the separation of church and state.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that a religious memorial outside the Harris County Civil Courthouse violates the First Amendment principle of church-state separation.

The ruling in Staley v. Harris County upholds a 2004 district court decision that the display, which prominently features an open Bible illuminated by neon lighting, runs afoul of the Constitution. Continue