ACLJ Urges Federal Appeals Court to Uphold Constitutionality of Ten Commandments Monument in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

CHICAGO -- The American Center for Law and Justice, which specializes in constitutional law, today urged a federal appeals court panel to uphold the constitutionality of a Ten Commandments monument in La Crosse, Wisconsin and asked the appeals court to overturn a decision by a federal district court ordering removal of the monument. The ACLJ, which represents the Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) in the case, today presented oral arguments in the case before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago.

"We presented a compelling argument urging the appeals court to recognize that the monument and the land it sits on is legally owned by a private organization - the Eagles - and that such an arrangement does not violate the constitution," said Francis J. Manion, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ, who presented oral arguments on behalf of the FOE. "There was no constitutional violation when the city sold the land to the Eagles. This solution is both sound and constitutional and follows existing appeals court precedent. We are hopeful the court will keep the monument in place."

In February, U.S. District Court Judge Barbara B. Crabb ruled that the August 2002 sale of the monument and the land it sits on by the city to the FOE violated the Establishment Clause because the "sale itself demonstrated a preference for the religious message of the monument ..."

The court also ordered the city and the FOE "to take the necessary steps to undo the sale" and remove the monument from the city park.

In oral arguments today before the appeals court, the ACLJ urged the panel to reverse the decision of the district court and uphold the constitutionality of the monument.

In its brief (posted at www.aclj.org) filed with the appeals court, the ACLJ contends the sale of the land "did not violate the Establishment Clause" and states that the monument sits "behind two fences and six signs proclaiming it and the land it occupies to be the property of the Eagles and not the City."

The ACLJ is asking the appeals court to reach the same conclusion that it did in a similar case when the appeals court determined in 2000 that it was valid and appropriate for the city of Marshfield, Wisconsin to sell a statue of Jesus to a private landowner as long as it was made clear to the public that the city no longer owned the statue. The ACLJ represented the city of Marshfield in that case. The appeals court concluded that " ... a sale of real property is an effective way for a public body to end its inappropriate endorsement of religion."

Next week, the ACLJ will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to reverse a decision by one of its three-judge panels that declared a monument containing the text of the Commandments in Plattsmouth, NE to be unconstitutional. In agreeing to rehear the case before the full panel, the appeals court vacated the decision declaring the monument unconstitutional and will hear oral arguments in the case on September 15, 2004.

The ACLJ is involved in numerous cases nationwide defending displays of the Ten Commandments. Based in Washington, D.C., the ACLJ specializes in constitutional law.