TEN COMMANDMENTS Judge can't use poster
One judge dissented in the court's decision.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A state judge cannot post the Ten Commandments in his courtroom because it violates the Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to uphold a lower court's decision that ordered Judge James DeWeese of Richland County Common Pleas Court in Mansfield to remove a Ten Commandments poster he displayed in his courtroom.
Judge DeWeese also had a poster of the Bill of Rights in his Mansfield courtroom. He put the words "the rule of law" atop both posters, contending they are part of the historic foundation for modern law.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued to challenge the July 2000 display of the Ten Commandments, arguing that its posting in a public courtroom gave it the appearance of an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
Judge DeWeese failed to establish a legally permissible secular reason for displaying the Ten Commandments in the courtroom, appeals judges Joseph Hood and R. Guy Cole Jr. wrote in their majority ruling. They upheld a June 2002 decision by U.S. District Judge Kathleen O'Malley in Cleveland.
Appeals Judge Alice Batchelder dissented. Batchelder said she believes Judge DeWeese is entitled to include the Ten Commandments in a display he uses to educate the public on the history and philosophy of law.
The American Center for Law and Justice, a public-interest law firm representing Judge DeWeese, said it was disappointed with the appellate court's ruling and will appeal further.