Finally, more than two years after the City of Everett was sued in federal court over its Ten Commandments monument, the word has come down: The monument’s presence on city property doesn’t violate the federal or state constitutions.
May the judge’s word be the final one in this case. Plaintiff Jesse Card and his legal backer, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, have had their day – several of them – in court. It’s time to relegate this divisive issue to the history books.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik ruled strongly in favor of the city on Tuesday, affirming what most observers already presumed: that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing a nearly identical monument to stay on the Texas state capitol grounds also applies here.
The two cases bear striking similarities. In both, the monuments were donated decades ago by a respected civic organization, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, as part of a campaign to curb juvenile delinquency and to promote Cecil B. DeMille’s blockbuster movie, “The Ten Commandments.” As in Texas, the Everett monument is just one of several outside the old City Hall.
Lasnik, to his credit, came to see the monument and its surroundings for himself. He noted in his ruling that the monument’s distance from the sidewalk and the fact that it is obscured by plants counters the notion that it is there to advance Judeo-Christian theology. Moreover, he wrote, the fact that it was moved a few feet several years ago to accommodate a larger, more prominent war memorial suggests the city actually tried to downplay it. And since the monument sat on public property for 44 years before anyone filed a legal claim, it’s hard to argue it was bothering many people.
Lasnik was wise to put the case on hold earlier this year when the Supreme Court announced it would rule in the Texas case. After that ruling came down, he asked both sides to provide briefs on how they thought it applied to the Everett case. Lasnik is to be commended for doing such a thorough job.
In advancing its cause, Americans United should now look for a more winnable case. Appealing Lasnik’s ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals would likely be a fruitless exercise, and a waste of time and money. The city has spent about $125,000 to defend a case that had become too much of a distraction from more important business.
In Everett, it’s time to close the book on the Ten Commandments.
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