8th Circuit: North Dakota Ten Commandments Monument Is OK

In Red River Freethinkers v. City of Fargo, (8th Cir., Aug. 25, 2014), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision held that a Ten Commandments monument at Civic Plaza in Fargo, North Dakota is permissible under Supreme Court and 8th Circuit precedent. Judge Bye dissening argued that this case differs from those where similar monuments have been upheld because here it permanently stands alone in a prominent location. He contended that the district court erred in granting summary judgment for defendants because factual questions remain about the city's involvement with the religious motives of the monumnent's backers.