Stigler, OK - Liberty Counsel has agreed to defend Haskell County, Oklahoma, against a lawsuit brought by the ACLU. In November 2004, the Haskell County Board of County Commissioners erected a marble monument depicting the Ten Commandments on one side with the Mayflower Compact on the other side. The ACLU waited until October 2005 to file suit.

The Ten Commandments display is situated in Stigler, Oklahoma, the seat of Haskell County. The Ten Commandments display is situated on the county grounds, along with memorials dedicated to those who died in the Civil War, WWI and WWII. Also displayed on the grounds is a tribute to those of the Cherokee Nation who died during the Trail of Tears. Liberty Counsel filed its Answer to the ACLU's Complaint late yesterday.

Liberty Counsel represents more than a dozen governmental displays that include the Ten Commandments. Liberty Counsel defended two Kentucky counties before the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year. On June 27, the Supreme Court handed down mixed decisions that were confusing at best. In light of the changing personnel on the United States Supreme Court with the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, McCreary and Pulaski Counties voted to continue defending their displays.

Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated: "The Ten Commandments display has been situated on the county grounds for more than a year without any controversy. It is among other memorials dedicated to those who fought in our Nation's wars and to those of the Cherokee Nation who died during the Trail of Tears. The Ten Commandments are a universally recognized symbol of law. Public display of the Commandments is consistent with our Nation's history and with the First Amendment. There are more than 50 displays of the Ten Commandments in the Supreme Court and thousands of displays throughout the country. If the Ten Commandments were an establishment of religion, then certainly an established religion would have occurred by now. History is the best predictor that displaying the Ten Commandments is a permissible acknowledgement, rather than an establishment, of religion. With the changing personnel on the High Court and the upcoming replacement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the Court will have an opportunity to establish a clear rule of law."