CINCINNATTI, Ohio, October 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments tomorrow in a battle over the constitutionality of two Kentucky displays on the “Foundations of American Law and Government,” which feature the Ten Commandments.
The public-advocacy and religious liberty group Liberty Counsel is representing McCreary and Pulaski Counties in Kentucky before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in defense of the “Foundations of American Law and Government” display, which contains the Ten Commandments, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Charta, the Star-Spangled Banner, the National Motto, the Preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution, and a picture of Lady Justice.
Liberty Counsel is once again facing off against the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and argued these cases before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005. But the High Court only ruled on the preliminary injunction, and its decisions in McCreary County v. ACLU and companion Texas case, Van Orden v. Perry, resulted in split and confusing decisions.
Since that time, however, the composition of the Court has changed. Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito have replaced Justices Rehnquist and O'Connor, and Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, believes that change will make all the difference.
“The ACLU's Ten Commandments clearinghouse agenda will hit rough waters when the case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Staver. “The tide has turned at the High Court. Since 2005 the ACLU has lost three consecutive Ten Commandments cases at the appellate court level.”
Since the 2005 decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the exact same “Foundations of American Law and Government” display, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals also reached the same conclusion. In both cases Liberty Counsel successfully represented the local governments concerned. Also, a federal court of appeals has upheld a stand-alone Ten Commandments following the 2005 decisions.
Despite the new makeup of the US Supreme Court and the precedents set by two federal court of appeals' decisions upholding the same displays, Kentucky District Court Judge Jennifer Kaufman issued an equivocal ruling, and then later struck down the displays. Liberty Counsel then appealed the ruling, arguing that every federal court of appeals which has considered the “Foundations” display has ruled that the display on its face is constitutional. The only issue raised by this display, they contend, is the subjective motive of government officials in posting such a display: if the displays were predominately religious, the courts have struck them down; if educational in nature, the courts have upheld them.
Staver said that the ACLU's reluctance to demand the Supreme Court hear these cases shows their lack of confidence that the high court will continue to lend an ear to their agenda.
“They have refused to ask the Supreme Court to take these cases, because they know the Court is no longer hostile to the Ten Commandments,” said Staver, adding, “Anyone with a little background in the history of America knows that the classic example of the rule of law is at home in a court of law.”
See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:
U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Right to Publicly Display Ten Commandments
ACLU Secularists Defeat Intelligent Design Choice; Lose on Kentucky Ten Commandments