Federal judge sides with atheist in dispute over Ten Commandments

By The Associated Press

02.20.02

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LINCOLN, Neb. — A federal judge ruled against the city of Plattsmouth yesterday in a lawsuit challenging a Ten Commandments monument on display in a city park.

A city attorney says the city should appeal the ruling.

The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of an atheist resident of Plattsmouth. The suit alleged that the monument fails to maintain a proper separation between church and state.

The monument lists the Ten Commandments and also is emblazoned with two Stars of David, symbols of the Jewish faith.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of Lincoln yesterday rejected the city's argument that the monument, which has been around for 36 years, hasn't hurt anyone and should be protected by the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom.

"The city has not presented any evidence that negates the overwhelming religious nature of the monument," Kopf said. "It conveys a message that Christianity and Judaism are favored religions."

Tim Butz, executive director of the Nebraska ACLU, said he hoped Kopf's ruling would end the case.

"Clearly, the judge understood that these are religious instructions, not just instructions for good citizenship," he said. "It's our hope the city won't appeal the judge's decision and will move the monument and let this matter be settled."

Jeff Downing, one of the attorneys for the city, said he would recommend that the City Council appeal the ruling. The City Council could make a decision on an appeal March 4.

More than 4,000 similar Ten Commandment monuments are displayed in cities around the United States. The ACLU has criticized similar monuments in Nebraska City and Fremont, but no legal action has been taken against those cities.

"The forced removal of religious artifacts from public property is not neutrality, it is hostility toward religion," said Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg.

A federal magistrate ruled in July that Stenberg could not intervene in the lawsuit against Plattsmouth.

Stenberg argued that if the monument is ordered taken out, that could open some of the state Capitol's artwork to similar lawsuits.

The Capitol has several frescoes and carvings of a religious nature, including depictions of Moses and Solomon.

In his ruling, U.S. District Court Magistrate David Piester said Stenberg failed to show that the Plattsmouth lawsuit creates any real threat to the art and engravings at the state Capitol.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a lower court order that said a Ten Commandments display in Elkhart, Ind., had to be taken down.

The court's action let stand a ruling that the marker violated the constitutional boundaries between church and state.

Alabama, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the Supreme Court case.

They argued the Ten Commandments should not be viewed strictly as a religious document but one that also has historical, cultural, moral and literary qualities.

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Nebraska city officials defend Ten Commandments display
Meanwhile, state attorney general says he’ll ask federal court to allow state to intervene in lawsuit challenging Plattsmouth monument.  06.30.01

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