Washington, D.C. – The ACLU has decided not to ask the Supreme Court to review the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Books v. Elkhart County, Indiana, which upheld a Ten Commandments display in the County Administration Building in Elkhart County, Indiana. The “Foundations of American Law and Government” display is identical to the display in the Supreme Court decision involving the Kentucky case of McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky. Elkhart County is represented by Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, and Erik W. Stanley, Chief Counsel for Liberty Counsel.

The Elkhart County display includes nine historical documents and symbols, including the Ten Commandments, flanked by the flags of the United States and Indiana. Unlike the Kentucky counties, Elkhart County has no prior history of posting the Ten Commandments.

On March 25, 2005, the Seventh Circuit upheld the display, stating: “[I]t is well within the bounds of constitutional plausibility to assert, as the County does here, that the Ten Commandments have played an important role in the development of American society and civic order.” The court also stated, “The Establishment Clause is not violated when government teaches about the historical role of religion.” The court concluded, “We see no reason why the display as erected must be purged of the Ten Commandments to survive constitutional scrutiny.”

After the ruling by the Supreme Court on June 27 in the Kentucky case, the ACLU publicly stated it would ask the Supreme Court to hear the Indiana case. The ACLU had 90 days to ask the Supreme Court to take the case. The time has now expired. Ken Faulk, the Indiana ACLU attorney and co-counsel for the ACLU on the Kentucky case, now states the ACLU will not ask the Supreme Court to review the Indiana case. By not requesting the Supreme Court to review the case, the decision of the Federal Court of Appeals will stand and the Ten Commandments will remain in place.

Mathew D. Staver commented: “In light of the changing of the guard at the Supreme Court, I was hoping the ACLU would ask the Supreme Court to take the Indiana Ten Commandments case. We are ready to return to the Supreme Court to establish a clear rule of law regarding the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments have clearly influenced American law and government, our notions of right and wrong, and even our vernacular. In light of Justice O’Connor’s retirement, we are hopeful that a majority of the Supreme Court will agree on a clear and historically-based rule of law when applying the First Amendment.”

Liberty Counsel is currently defending a dozen Ten Commandments displays.