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Appeals Court Declares Ten Commandments Monument Unconstitutional
Judges say the Oklahoma monument would reflect a government endorsement of religion.
Adelle M. Banks,
Religion News Service
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/juneweb-only/123-42.0.html
6/11/2009
A federal appeals court has declared the erection of a Ten Commandments monument unconstitutional, citing the "unusual" circumstances of its placement on the courthouse grounds in a small Oklahoma county.
In its Monday ruling, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted statements by county commissioners about the monument, including one who said, "I'm a Christian and I believe in this."
The court said "a reasonable observer" in the community would know of the religious motivations of the part-time minister who secured private donations for the monument and the quick approval of the commissioners who heard his request for it.
"We conclude, in the unique factual setting of a small community like Haskell County, that the reasonable observer would find that these facts tended to strongly reflect a government endorsement of religion," wrote Circuit Judge Jerome A. Holmes for a unanimous three-judge panel. "In none of their statements did the commissioners attempt to distinguish between the board's position and their own beliefs."
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