Kentucky Ten Commandments display must come down

By The Associated Press

05.19.02

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OWENSBORO, Ky. — U.S. District Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr. ruled a Ten Commandments display in the Grayson County Courthouse must be removed within seven days because it is unconstitutional, the American Civil Liberties Union announced May 16.

The ACLU sued Grayson, Garrard, Mercer and Rowan counties in November, seeking to have Ten Commandments displays removed because it said the postings represent an endorsement of religion in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuits in the other three counties are pending.

"Freedom is protected when government remains neutral toward religion," said David A. Friedman, attorney for the ACLU of Kentucky. "Judge McKinley's ruling is consistent with recent rulings by federal judges in other parts of Kentucky and the country."

Grayson County Judge-Executive Gary Logsdon could not be reached for comment.

The ACLU went to court two years ago to get the commandments postings removed from schools and courthouses in McCreary, Pulaski and Harlan counties. U.S. District Judge Jennifer Coffman ruled that the postings were unconstitutional

The ACLU won a related challenge when U.S. District Judge Joseph Hood struck down a Kentucky law calling for creation of a monument inscribed with the commandments outside the state Capitol in Frankfort.

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Ten Commandments displays prompt more lawsuits in Kentucky
ACLU takes four more local governments to court for posting religious codes in courthouses.  11.28.01

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