Nine Supremes to Weigh Ten Commandments

The United States Supreme Court finally dares to go where it has not trod in nearly twenty-five years, and has agreed to hear two cases,one from Texas and the other from Kentucky, on the constitutionality of displays of the Ten Commandments in and around government buildings. The Kentucky case involves displays that were in county courthouses, and in which the Decalogue was subsequently surrounded by other historical documents, such as Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence, to show the development of legal thought in Western civilization. The Texas case involves a six-foot monument donated to a county by the Fraternal Order of Eagles four decades ago and displayed on courthouse grounds.

While it will be nice to have some clarity on this issue, I am not necessarily heartened by this Court's grant of certiorari in these cases. This is a Court that has recently ruled that scholarship money otherwise available to any party may be denied to someone who wants to use the money for seminary training, found a fundamental right to commit sodomy in the Constitution, ruled that prayers over the public address system at high school football games violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, and any number of other decisions seemingly hostile to religious freedom. While it is possible that four justices favorably disposed to displays of the Decalogue voted to hear the case, it is equally plausible that four justices determined to complete the cleansing of religious expression from the public square believe they have a fifth vote to do just that.

As Margaret Thatcher might say, however, this is no time to go wobbly. There are strong historical arguments, strong factual arguments, and strong legal arguments supporting the public display of the Ten Commandments, and the team arguing the case on behalf of the counties will marshal each and every one of these arguments for the cases. Hope springs eternal . . . .