Washington D.C. - Tomorrow, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky and Van Orden v. Perry. March 2 will mark the first time in American history that a case regarding the Ten Commandments has ever been fully briefed and orally argued before the High Court. Mathew Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, will present oral arguments before the Court in the Kentucky case, and will argue that the Ten Commandments played an important role in the development of American law and government and thus do not constitute a government endorsement of religion when exhibited in public displays.

The Supreme Court's decision will affect every Ten Commandments display in the country and may well set the future course for other governmental acknowledgments of religion, as the Court has agreed to review the standard by which it will interpret the church-state provision of the First Amendment. Liberty Counsel proposed a new test to the Court. The new test would find a permissible governmental acknowledgment of religion if the activity (1) comports with history and ubiquity, (2) does not coerce participation in a religious exercise or activity, and (3) does not discriminate among sects based upon religious character alone. While numerous Justices have, over the course of time, proposed a new standard to replace the often-criticized Lemon test, Liberty Counsel is hopeful that the Court will adopt a test that makes a clear distinction between an acknowledgment of religion, which the Constitution permits, as opposed to an establishment of religion, which the Constitution forbids. For example, history has shown that the National Motto, "In God We Trust," does not establish religion. The Motto does not coerce anyone to participate in a religious activity and does not discriminate among sects based on religious character alone.

Mathew D. Staver commented, "Tomorrow, when I walk through the double doors leading to the Supreme Court's chambers, I will see the Ten Commandments. The engraved Ten Commandments on the Court's double wooden door entrance and the bronze gates to the side exits, or Moses holding the Ten Commandments in Hebrew script inside the chambers, have not established a religion. The Ten Commandments are a universally recognized symbol of law that has influenced our laws, our government and even our common vernacular. Displaying them in a courthouse is a permissible acknowledgment of religion and of the role religion has played in shaping our Nation."