U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Rules for 10 Commandments Monument in Utah

[MCWAY]

WASHINGTON (BP)--In what some are calling a landmark decision that could impact religious monuments across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court Feb. 25 unanimously ruled that a Utah city can keep a Ten Commandments monument in a public park without being required to erect a monument for an unorthodox religious sect.

The 9-0 decision authored by Justice Samuel Alito said the city's Ten Commandments monument is a form of government speech and therefore not restricted by the Constitution's Free Speech Clause, which protects private speech. The case involved a three-decades-old religious sect known as Summum, which sought to have a monument about its beliefs erected in a park in Pleasant Grove City. Eight justices agreed with the judgment and ruling; a ninth justice, David Souter, agreed with the judgment but expressed concern about the reasoning.

Unlike a pair of high-profile Ten Commandments cases in 2005, the ruling did not involve the First Amendment's Establishment Clause prohibiting government establishment of religion. The Feb. 25 decision overturned a ruling by a Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals panel that had ordered the city to allow a monument by the religious sect.

The case was being watched closely by war veterans organizations, who expressed concern that the nation's war memorials -- some of which contain biblical references and imagery -- could be in danger if the city lost the case. The Utah cities of Salt Lake City and Ogden removed Ten Commandments displays in the wake of the Summum lawsuit.


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