PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that three counties violated the Constitution by posting the Ten Commandments in public buildings, even though the religious laws were accompanied by other historical documents.
McCreary and Pulaski county officials hung framed copies of the Ten Commandments in their courthouses and later added other documents, such as the Magna Carta and Declaration of Independence, after the display was challenged. Harlan County had similar displays in its schools.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld U.S. District Judge Jennifer Coffman’s 2001 order to remove the displays from public view.
Coffman said in her ruling that the purpose of displaying the Ten Commandments was "religious in nature."
She said the fact that the displays began with just the Ten Commandments and only later added the other documents "bolstered the reasonable observer’s perception of the state endorsement of religion."
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