High court refuses to review Ten Commandments ruling!
WASHINGTON - March 7 2010 - The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to take up the case of a privately funded Ten Commandments display that sits on the lawn of a county courthouse in Oklahoma.
With the high court denying the petition to review the decision of a federal appeals court, Haskell County is now legally obligated to remove the eight-foot tall and three-foot wide monument, which lists the Ten Commandments on the front and the Mayflower Compact on the back.
Though Haskell County officials have for many years allowed citizens to erect monuments in the courthouse lawn area, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled last year that a “reasonable observer” would be aware of the religious motivations behind the Ten Commandments display - especially in a small community like Haskell County, “where everyone knows everyone.”
The judges highlighted the widely known religious motivations of local lay pastor Mike Bush, who had won permission from county commissioners to erect the monument and raised funds with the help of Haskell County churches and youth groups.
They also referred to statements of religious beliefs made by at least two of the three commissioners to the local media.
“By not distinguishing their personal opinions from their official views, the commissioners left the impression that a principal or primary reason for the erection and maintenance of the display was religious,” the judges explained after voting 3-0 against the display.
With the high court denying the petition to review the decision of a federal appeals court, Haskell County is now legally obligated to remove the eight-foot tall and three-foot wide monument, which lists the Ten Commandments on the front and the Mayflower Compact on the back.
Though Haskell County officials have for many years allowed citizens to erect monuments in the courthouse lawn area, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled last year that a “reasonable observer” would be aware of the religious motivations behind the Ten Commandments display - especially in a small community like Haskell County, “where everyone knows everyone.”
The judges highlighted the widely known religious motivations of local lay pastor Mike Bush, who had won permission from county commissioners to erect the monument and raised funds with the help of Haskell County churches and youth groups.
They also referred to statements of religious beliefs made by at least two of the three commissioners to the local media.
“By not distinguishing their personal opinions from their official views, the commissioners left the impression that a principal or primary reason for the erection and maintenance of the display was religious,” the judges explained after voting 3-0 against the display.
