ACLJ To Defend Nebraska City in Ten Commandments Lawsuit
May 21, 2001
(Virginia Beach, VA) – The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, said today it will defend the City of Plattsmouth, Nebraska which has been sued by the ACLU to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments which has been displayed in a park since 1965.
“There is nothing unconstitutional with the city’s display of the Ten Commandments,†said Francis J. Manion, Senior Attorney of the ACLJ, which is representing the City of Plattsmouth. “The Ten Commandments have played a vital role in the development of Western law and that has been recognized many times by the U.S. Supreme Court. We believe the court will find the ACLU’s challenge to be legally flawed.â€
The ACLJ is involved in a national effort to defend the public display of the Ten Commandments in communities across the country. In a case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, the ACLJ is defending the city of Elkhart, Indiana against a lawsuit by the ACLU challenging a monument of the Ten Commandments that has been on display outside city hall since the 1950’s. The ACLJ has asked the Supreme Court to take the Elkhart case and overturn a decision by the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled the display unconstitutional.
The ACLJ is involved in ten cases involving challenges to the display of the Ten Commandments – including the representation of an Ohio state judge who has been sued by the ACLU for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom.
Further, the ACLJ has launched a national petition campaign – which already has generated nearly 90,000 names – to urge Congress to approve a joint resolution affirming the public display of the Ten Commandments.