ACLU Challenges Florida County 10 Commandments

As previously reported, groups objecting to the new 10 Commandments monument placed on the Dixie County, Florida courthouse steps have had difficulty finding a plaintiff to file suit. Yesterday, however, the ACLU of Florida has announced that it has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the 6-ton granite monument (photo). The complaint (full text) alleges that the suit is brought by the ACLU and that at least one of its members has been harmed by unwelcome contact with the Display resulting from the need to use county facilities available only at the courthouse. Yesterday's St. Petersburg Times reports on the case, as does the Associated Press. Florida ACLU Executive Director Howard Simon says the lawsuit is likely to be very unpopular in Dixie County. Brian Rooney, a spokesman for the Thomas More Law Center that has offered to represent the County without charge, says that it questions the failure of the lawsuit to name an individual as plaintiff along with the ACLU. There may not be a true case or controversy present.