OK: 10 Commandments Trial Starts Monday
What's more popular these days in courtrooms than the Ten Commandments? And not just adorning the walls...they've become the subject of lawsuits across the country, including 2 Supreme Court decisions just last year. God's laws for the Israelites haven't gotten so much public attention since Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I.
In Haskell County, Oklahoma, yet another trial begins Monday over the constitutionality of a Ten Commandments display. What makes this effort different? County officials claim that, because they have routinely allowed commemorative displays on a variety of topics, they would have denied Mike Bush's free speech rights had they denied his request.
"This is a free speech case," [County attorney] Oster said. "There's just a lot of stuff on this courthouse lawn. If the county commissioners had told Mike 'no,' it would have violated his rights."In March, the county passed a resolution intended to codify what had been previously described as a verbal policy involving placement of monuments on county property. The written policy, which the ACLU called a "facade," included the criteria that the monument be related to the history of Haskell County.