THE YEAR 2005 TEN COMMANDMENTS CASES BEFORE THE U.S. SUPREME
COURT, FROM KENTUCKY AND TEXAS
The Texas case
Sponsored link.
The case:
Van Orden v. Perry (03-1500): This case involves a six-foot tall granite monument
containing the Ten Commandments placed on the grounds of the Texas State
Capitol at Austin in 1961 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. It includes:
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The words "Ten Commandments,"
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The text of the Decalogue including the words "I am the Lord thy God,"
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A Star of David, |
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A symbol representing Jesus Christ |
No material from other religions is included. No text
from secular sources is included.
The respondent in the case is Rick Perry, in his capacity as governor of Texas and
Chairman of its State Preservation Board.
1,2,3
Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) briefs:
These were filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by:
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National School Boards Association |
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Rutherford Institute |
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Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund |
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Judicial Watch, Inc. |
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Federal Government |
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Becket Fund for Religious Liberty |
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Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs |
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Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund |
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State of Alabama and many other states |
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Faith and Action |
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State of Minnesota |
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Pacific Justice Institute |
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Thomas More Law Center |
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Foundation for Moral Law, Inc. |
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American Legion |
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American Center for Law and Justice |
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Family Research Council |
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Focus on the Family |
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WallBuilders, Inc. |
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American Liberties Institute |
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American Humanist Association |
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Anti-Defamation League |
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American Atheists |
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Atheist Law Center |
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Freedom From Relgion [sic] Foundation |
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Council for Secular Humanism |
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International Academy of Humanism |
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Americans United for Separation of Church and State |
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Legal Historians and Law Scholars |
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Baptist Joint Committee 4 |
On 2005-MAR-02. the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the two cases.
The plaintiff:Thomas Van Orden, describes himself as a religious
pluralist. He was raised in a Methodist family, had a brief interest in the
Unitarian Universalist religion, but now regards himself
as "not religious." 3
He said: "I have nothing against the Ten Commandments. I grew up with the Ten
Commandments," I didn't sue Christianity or Judaism. I sued the government. It
was filed to uphold the principles of the First Amendment." He launched a lawsuit against the state of Texas. He has said that
the state has crossed the line separating church and state by promoting "personal
religious beliefs." He includes in his brief the comment that many religions
reject the concept of a single God who lays down rules for human behavior. He
said: "Even among religions that accept the Ten Commandments, there are
significant differences in content of each religion's version of the Ten
Commandments." 1 The Decalogue text on the monument is almost identical to the
Protestant version. Although the majority of court decisions on isolated
religious displays have found them unconstitutional, Van Orden lost at the
federal appeals level and has appealed to the Supreme Court. He has received
threatening E-mails, that warn "we're gonna get you" and tell
him to "get the hell out" of the country if he cannot support
Christianity and the American way of life. 3
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"Join us! Wednesday, March 2 rally at Supreme Court..." AANEWS, 2005-FEB-28.
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Bill Mears, "Ten Commandments before high court. Explosive church-state issues from Kentucky, Texas," CNN,com Law Center, 2005-MAR-01,
at: http://www.cnn.com/
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"Top Court to Weigh Ten Commandments Cases," Associated Press, 2005-FEB-26, at:
http://apnews.myway.com/
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"Van Orden v. Perry," U.S. Supreme Court, at:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
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Pete Winn, "Ten Commandments arguments go well," Focus on the Family,
2005-MAR-02, at:
http://www.family.org/
Copyright © 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2005-MAR-02
Latest update: 2005-MAR-02
Author: B.A. Robinson 
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