10th Circuit Holds 10 Commandments Monument Violates Establishment Clause

In Green v. Haskell County Board of Commissioners, (10th Cir., June 8, 2009), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a display of a Ten Commandments monument on the lawn of the county courthouse in Stigler, Oklahoma, violated the Establishment Clause. It concluded that the particular history of this monument-- including the religious motivation of its backers-- meant that a reasonable observer would view the Monument as having the impermissible primary effect of endorsing religion. AP yesterday reported on the decision.