On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Declare Ten Commandments Displays Constitutional, Affirm Nation's Moral Heritage
WASHINGTON, DC -- Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed a friend of the court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in McCreary County, Kentucky v. ACLU of Kentucky, one of two Ten Commandments cases before the high court this year. The case will determine whether several county displays consisting of framed copies of the Ten Commandments in county courthouses violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Institute attorneys have asked the justices to reverse the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that the Ten Commandments displays are unconstitutional, insisting that the lower court's reasoning inevitably would result in hostility toward religion. Arguing that the "Christian acknowledgments of God that pervade our government's history and traditions cannot withstand the glare of the Court's modern Establishment Clause jurisprudence," Institute attorneys have also asked the Court to renounce its Establishment Clause "Lemon Test" and return to a historically accurate and logically sound application of the Clause to the federal government. A copy of the Institute's brief is available here."The Ten Commandments are venerable instructions that have provided the foundation for much of the legal tradition of this country," said John W. Whitehead, president and founder of The Rutherford Institute. "The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that there is a crucial link between religion and our laws and government, for 'we are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.' In this context, where the Ten Commandments are displayed along with other historical documents, I hope the high court will uphold the importance of the Decalogue's place in our nation's history."
In McCreary County, Kentucky v. ACLU of Kentucky, McCreary and Pulaski county officials hung framed copies of the Ten Commandments in their courthouses and later added other documents, such as the Magna Carta and Declaration of Independence, after the display was challenged. Despite the presence of the other documents, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky county courthouses were unconstitutional, holding that the displays were religious because the Ten Commandments was "blatantly religious." Institute attorneys argue that the historical document display that the Sixth Circuit found to violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause due to the inclusion of the Ten Commandments is consistent with displays that the Supreme Court has upheld against Establishment Clause challenges. Supporters of constitutional Ten Commandments displays have pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court chamber contains a frieze depicting lawgivers through the ages, including Moses holding tablets representing the Ten Commandments and showing some of the religious codes in Hebrew. The Rutherford Institute's "Constitutional Guidelines for Displaying the Ten Commandments" are also available here.
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
Related links:
Sign-up to receive The Rutherford Institute's Insider Report E-newsletter!
Sign-up to receive John W. Whitehead's Weekly Column today!
Sound Off! Tell us what you think about this news story!
Get your free copy of the Bill of Rights!
Support the Fight! Give Today!
Rutherford News Archives
Recent Victories!
The Rutherford Institute
|
