Post by AuntieSocial on Nov 20, 2003 19:00:06 GMT -5
Habersham Ten Commandments ordered removed
Click here to see article on the original site
By: Pearce Adams
Published: November 18, 2003
Publication: Gainsville Times
A federal judge ruled Monday that the way Habersham County displays the Ten Commandments in its courthouse and natatorium is unconstitutional. The commandments must be removed immediately, the judge ruled.
In his ruling, Judge William O’Kelley of the United States District Court in Gainesville said the inclusion of the commandments in a display with other historical documents “failed to include any explanation with the documents as to how they all fit together or why they were being presented as a group. … A reasonable observer would be quite justified in concluding that (Habersham) was endorsing either religion in general or Judeo-Christian religions in particular.
O’Kelley heard the suit Oct. 21 in a trial that did not include a jury.
In 2002, Habersham residents Charles Bo Turner and Gregg Holder, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed suit to remove of the commandments.
A similar suit is pending in federal court against Barrow County, which has a display of the commandments in its courthouse. A trial date has not been set.
In October, Jackson, Cherokee and Walton commissioners voted to allow displays similar to Habersham’s. Suits have not yet been filed in those counties.
Maverick: Added to the news page. Message icon updated.
Click here to see article on the original site
By: Pearce Adams
Published: November 18, 2003
Publication: Gainsville Times
A federal judge ruled Monday that the way Habersham County displays the Ten Commandments in its courthouse and natatorium is unconstitutional. The commandments must be removed immediately, the judge ruled.
In his ruling, Judge William O’Kelley of the United States District Court in Gainesville said the inclusion of the commandments in a display with other historical documents “failed to include any explanation with the documents as to how they all fit together or why they were being presented as a group. … A reasonable observer would be quite justified in concluding that (Habersham) was endorsing either religion in general or Judeo-Christian religions in particular.
O’Kelley heard the suit Oct. 21 in a trial that did not include a jury.
In 2002, Habersham residents Charles Bo Turner and Gregg Holder, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed suit to remove of the commandments.
A similar suit is pending in federal court against Barrow County, which has a display of the commandments in its courthouse. A trial date has not been set.
In October, Jackson, Cherokee and Walton commissioners voted to allow displays similar to Habersham’s. Suits have not yet been filed in those counties.
Maverick: Added to the news page. Message icon updated.
