ACLJ Asks Federal Appeals Court to Declare Ten Commandments Displays Outside Ohio Schools Constitutional.

Business Editors/Legal Writers

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2003

The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, today asked a federal appeals court to overturn a district court ruling that determined that granite monuments of the Ten Commandments placed outside four public schools in southern Ohio were unconstitutional and were removed by court order.

"The school board has struck the right balance - a constitutional balance with these displays," said Francis J. Manion, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ, which is representing the Adams County/Ohio Valley School Board. "Nothing in our constitution or the Supreme Court's interpretation of it require that high school students be shielded from exposure to things religious. In fact, because religion has played such an enormous role in the development of civilization and our legal system, it is only proper that these monuments were placed outside the schools. The school board's inclusion of the Ten Commandments in its display of some of the 'Foundations of American Law and Government' is not only appropriate, but constitutional as well."

The ACLJ presented oral arguments today before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati on behalf of the Adams County/Ohio Valley School Board.

The ACLJ represents the school board in defending against a 1999 lawsuit that challenged monuments of the Ten Commandments that were placed outside four high schools. The school board included a disclaimer that the monuments did not endorse religion. In 2002, the school board added a display to the schools entitled "Foundations of Law and Government" - a display that included monuments highlighting the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, and the Code of Justinian. The school board said the display was intended to "inform Adams County/Ohio Valley high school students about some of the essential documents that the board believes form the foundation of American law and government." A federal district court ruled against the school district in June 2002 saying the displays were unconstitutional. The federal court ordered the monuments of the Ten Commandments removed, which occurred in June 2003.

Manion said: "We presented a very clear argument before the appeals court - the monuments do not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because the monuments focus on educating students about the historical significance of the Ten Commandments on the development of our legal system. We're hopeful the court will overturn the decision of the lower court."

This is the second time in as many months that the ACLJ presented oral arguments before the 6th circuit on a Ten Commandments case. In October, the ACLJ asked a panel of the federal appeals court to overturn a district court ruling that determined that an Ohio state judge violated the constitution when he hung a framed poster of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. There is no word on when the appeals court will rule on either case.

The ACLJ is currently involved in more than 15 cases around the country defending the constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments. The ACLJ is a public interest law firm specializing in constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C. The website address is www.aclj.org.