Free Republic

When the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against a Ten Commandments display hanging in the breezeway of the courthouse in Winder, Barrow County officials rallied behind the exhibit and vowed to defend it. On Monday, after sifting through two highly anticipated U.S. Supreme Court rulings over displays in Kentucky and Texas, a top Barrow official said it was unclear how the decisions will affect his county's defense. But an ACLU lawyer predicted the rulings will lead to the eventual removal of the display. "Both opinions strengthen our case," ACLU attorney Maggie Garrett said. "There was an obvious religious purpose...

The Ten Commandments: Incremental hair-splitting Tuesday, June 28, 2005 The Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the posting of the Ten Commandments in two Kentucky courthouses.snip In Texas, however, a 6-foot granite monument at the Statehouse was validated as not being too religious. It is one of 17 historical displays on a large lot. One can read the decisions in whole as being irrational because they announce no firm rules of law. The justices, instead, will take up these matters on a case-by-case basis -- after they convene by asking God to look favorably upon the court. If the justices voting against...

High Court Gives Split Decisions On Ten Commandments POSTED: 9:10 am CDT June 27, 2005 UPDATED: 10:19 am CDT June 27, 2005 SUPREME COURT -- There have been two closely-watched rulings on church-state separation. The Supreme Court said Monday that Ten Commandments displays in two Kentucky courthouses cross the line between church and state. The justices -- in a 5-4 vote -- rejected those displays, saying they promote a religious message. But the justices declined to prohibit all displays in court buildings or on government property. They said some displays, such as the one in their own courtroom, would be...

RULINGS IN THE U.S. SUPREME COURT'S TEN COMMANDMENTS CASES June 27, 2005 In different rulings, the justices ban displays of the Ten Commandments at courthouses, but allow them to be placed on government land. The Courthouse Ruling: Opinion (McCreary County v. ACLU)http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/03-1693.html The ACLU's Attorneyhttp://pview.findlaw.com/view/3433759_1 Attorney for Liberty Counselhttp://pview.findlaw.com/view/1438042_1 Case Dockethttp://rd.findlaw.com/scripts/nl.pl?url=11198556000_nl The Government Land Ruling: Opinion (Van Orden v. Perry)http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/03-1500.html Attorney for Texashttp://pview.findlaw.com/vie

will post more info as it comes in...

I don't know how many people have walked past the Ten Commandments displayed on the Capitol grounds in Austin, but as best as I can tell, no one has ever been converted. I've read no reports of thieves, overcome by the words "Thou Shalt Not Steal," turning themselves in to police. I've heard no accounts of husbands, pricked by the words "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery," confessing to their wives. I've not heard of one crooked politician becoming honest after passing by that big rock. But I know of many who remained dishonest and went to jail. So what's the...

The Supreme Court will end its current term this summer with the state of Texas once again a party in one of the year's biggest cases. The case, which will be argued Wednesday, was brought against the state by Thomas Van Orden, the homeless attorney who lives in a tent in a wooded area in Austin. Mr. Van Orden objects to the Ten Commandments monument located on the grounds of the Capitol. It is an unconstitutional establishment of religion, he says, and he wants it removed. Mr. Van Orden lost in federal district court and then in the 5th Circuit....

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said today there is no constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state as the Supreme Court prepared to take up a case challenging the display of the Ten Commandments on the Texas Capitol grounds. "I hope the Supreme Court will finally read the Constitution and see there's no such thing, or no mention, of separation of church and state in the Constitution," said DeLay, a Republican from Sugar Land. The First Amendment of the Constitution says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..." Some...

Should the nation's 4,000-odd Ten Commandments displays be removed from the courthouses, civic buildings and parks where they're installed? Beyond that, must public property be stripped of all references to religion? On March 2, the US Supreme Court, whose own building features four artworks showing the sacred tablets - minus the biblical text - hears arguments on this emotional matter. The cases involve a large monument on the Texas Capitol grounds and a wall posting alongside secular documents in a Kentucky courthouse. Religion's cultural and legal status in America could be affected by the results, yet the nation's major Christian...