EVERETT — Everett already has spent $30,000 and clocked hours of staff time in preparation for defending itself against a lawsuit that seeks removal of a Ten Commandments monument from city property.
The case is still in its early stages and will not go before a judge until Oct. 4, 2004, when U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnick is scheduled to first hear arguments in the case in Seattle.
City attorney Mark Soine declined to predict how much money the city likely would spend on the matter by the time Lasnick makes a ruling. But defenses of such cases typically run into the six figures, said Robert Boston, a spokesman for Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which is representing Jesse Card, the 20-year-old Everett man who filed the suit.
Everett would have to spend even more if either side appeals the case or if Americans United wins and a judge orders Everett to pay the group’s legal fees, Boston said.
"I think the local officials in Everett should consider whether that money would be better spent on city services," he added.
Card did not file his lawsuit until July, so city officials did not include the money to defend itself in the 2003 budget. The money to pay for the city’s legal expenses will probably come from surplus funds.
On Tuesday, the City Council’s budget and finance committee approved an amendment to the 2003 budget that includes $30,000 for the lawsuit. The full council will consider the amendment next month.
The city hired the Seattle law firm of Preston Gates Ellis LLP to represent it in the case. The $30,000 Everett paid to the firm was primarily for the city’s response to the lawsuit, legal research and related expenses, said Stephen Smith, a partner in the firm. One of Smith’s areas of expertise is constitutional law. Another of the firm’s partners, Fredric Tausend, also is representing the city.
In addition, the city’s own attorneys have spent time on the matter, although Soine said his office does not track the number of hours city attorneys work on each case.
Card argues in his lawsuit that the monument is a "sectarian religious display" that violates the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition of state endorsement of religion. Everett maintains that the monument is a historic landmark that promotes universal values and legal principles, not a particular religion. The Everett Eagles gave the granite slab to the city in 1959, and it sits in front of the old City Hall, which now houses the City Council chambers and police headquarters.
Courts across the country have differed over whether Ten Commandments displays in front of government buildings are unconstitutional, and the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule on the matter. Last week, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore was removed from office for refusing to obey a July federal court order to move a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the state courthouse.
In Everett, Mayor Frank Anderson adamantly supported fighting Card’s lawsuit. Ray Stephanson, who beat Anderson in the Nov. 4 general election and took office Wednesday, said he has not yet reviewed the matter in detail.
But in an October Herald election questionnaire, Stephanson said, "I believe a lengthy and expensive legal battle should be avoided, and a mutually agreeable compromise should be reached to protect the rights and respect the beliefs of all citizens."
Reporter David Olson: 425-339-3452 or dolson@heraldnet.com.
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