ACLU Continues to Target Ten Commandments Display

Photo courtesy of American Center for Law and Justice

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) says the ACLU has no
legal standing to challenge an Ohio courtroom display containing the Ten
Commandments. In a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court,
the ACLJ contends that an appeals court erred in its decision declaring
unconstitutional a judge’s poster on legal philosophy that included the
Ten Commandments.

“The Supreme Court has a perfect
opportunity to make it clear that a governmental affirmation of moral
absolutes, symbolized here by the Ten Commandments, does not violate the
Constitution,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ, which is representing Judge James DeWeese in DeWeese v. ACLU. “It’s
time for the high court to set the record straight: the display by
Judge DeWeese is a constitutionally-permissible method of explaining his
legal and moral philosophy – the same philosophy embraced by our
founders.”

DeWeese’s poster, part of a courtroom
exhibit on legal philosophy, depicts the clash between different views
of law and morality. “Philosophies of Law in Conflict” features two
columns of principles or precepts intended to show the contrast between
legal philosophies based on moral absolutes (like the Ten Commandments)
and moral relativism (like the Humanist Manifesto).

In its reply
brief filed Tuesday, the ACLJ cites Supreme Court precedent that the
unwelcome observation of an governmental display of religion does not
give one legal standing to challenge such a display in federal court.

“DeWeese’s
poster is an affirmation of what the Founders and their successors saw
as a simple and abiding truth; that a recognition of moral absolutes,
which receive their permanence from a divine source, are critical in
‘restoring the moral fabric of this nation,'” the brief argues.

In June, the ACLJ filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari,
urging the high court to take the case and overturn a February decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit holding
Judge DeWeese’s courtroom display in violation of the First Amendment.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.