Ten Commandments split: Court OKs Texas display, overrules Kentucky's

Published: 2005-06-27

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol is permissible under federal law, but those in two Kentucky courthouses violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, the Supreme Court ruled in two narrowly decided opinions June 27. In one 5-4 ruling, the court said the 6-foot granite monument donated by the Order of Eagles amid a display of other monuments and historical markers on the Texas Capitol's 22-acre grounds is a passive structure that does not violate the Establishment Clause. In a second 5-4 ruling released on the last day of the term, however, the court upheld injunctions barring Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky's McCreary and Pulaski county courthouses because there was a predominantly religious purpose behind their placement.

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