Posted on 07/15/2004 6:39:29 PM PDT by bimboeruption
CINCINNATI -- Richland County Common Pleas Judge James DeWeese's fight to return the Ten Commandments to his courtroom wall suffered a setback Wednesday.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth District's three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that displaying the plaque violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
"We're obviously pleased with the ruling," Gary Daniels, litigation coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said.
A federal judge forced DeWeese to remove the Ten Commandments in 2002 after a lawsuit by the ACLU.
"We've contended such a display is offensive to the Establishment Clause and violates the separation of church and state," Daniels said.
The American Center for Law and Justice, a public-interest law firm representing DeWeese, said it was disappointed with the appellate court's ruling and will appeal further.
DeWeese also had a poster of the Bill of Rights in his Mansfield courtroom. He put the words "the rule of law" atop both posters, contending they are part of the historic foundation for modern law.
The ACLU sued to challenge the display of the Ten Commandments, arguing that its posting in a public courtroom gave it the appearance of an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
DeWeese failed to establish a legally permissible secular reason for displaying the Ten Commandments in the courtroom, appeals judges Joseph Hood and R. Guy Cole Jr. wrote in their majority ruling. They upheld a June 2002 decision by U.S. District Judge Kathleen O'Malley in Cleveland.
Appeals Judge Alice Batchelder dissented. Batchelder said she believes DeWeese is entitled to include the Ten Commandments in a display he uses to educate the public on the history and philosophy of law.
maybe the fed judges should be ignored in this case, what can they do???
"Wanna take the first shot?"
I think some liberal extremist will do it for me.
My God have mercy on us.
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