Do Displays of the Ten Commandments on Public Property Violate the Establishment Clause?
Van Orden v. Perry et al. Docket No. 03-1500 From: The Fifth Circuit McCreary County, Kentucky et al. v. ACLU of Kentucky et al. Docket No. 03-1693 From: The Sixth Circuit Cases at a Glance In these cases, the Supreme Court will decide whether displays of the Ten Commandments on public property violate the Establishment Clause. Factual differences between the cases raise the possibility that the Court could focus on distinguishing features, such as when a display was erected, where a display is located, the message or purpose that motivated a display, the government’s role in initiating or approving a display, whether a display was privately donated, and whether the Ten Commandments appear alongside other secular historical materials. • Previewed by Brett G. Scharffs, a professor of law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
