Ten Commandments cases have varied results

Harlan display allowed; 2 other counties blocked

A federal judge has rejected a bid by two Eastern Kentucky counties to revive displays of historical documents that included the Ten Commandments that were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer B. Coffman did refuse to issue a permanent injunction against displays by McCreary and Pulaski counties, which had posted the displays in their courthouses.

She also granted a victory to Harlan County Public Schools, which wants to restore similar displays in school buildings, dismissing a lawsuit over the displays because the student who filed it eight years ago no is longer enrolled in the school system...

..."It's a prayer answered, for not just Harlan County but for America," said Johnnie Turner, an attorney for Harlan County Public Schools.

He maintained the display was purely educational. "Let history be history," he said. "That's all we ask."

He said he'd discuss the case with other lawyers and officials involved before any decision is made on whether to put the exhibits back up.

All of the displays at issue involve an exhibit called "Foundations of American Law and Government," which displays the Ten Commandments along with other historic documents, including the Magna Carta and the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The Supreme Court ruled the displays in McCreary and Pulaski counties were unconstitutional in 2005, saying the county governments were improperly sponsoring religion, as county officials had stated in official resolutions their intent to honor Jesus Christ as the "Prince of Ethics."

They also erected the Foundations of American Law and Government display only after court rulings against earlier displays of the Ten Commandments on their own, or grouped with other explicitly religious documents.

But the Supreme Court's ruling only upheld a preliminary injunction against the displays. The court said the counties' actions didn't "forever taint any effort" to post the Ten Commandments if officials could prove they had "purged" themselves of their original religious intent and were now trying to display the commandments strictly for secular, educational purposes.

Because of that possibility, Coffman denied the bid for a permanent injunction on the displays, sought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, which brought the lawsuits against the counties...

This from the Courier-Journal.