A monument declaring Summum's Seven Aphorisms won't be coming to a Pleasant Grove city park anytime soon.

During a hearing Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson denied a motion by Summum for leave to erect their monument next to an existing Ten Commandments display.

The Salt Lake-based religious group is currently locked in a legal battle with the city of Pleasant Grove over the display. In a federal suit, the group says it has a constitutional right to erect its monument in a park owned by the city. But city officials say they have a long-standing, albeit unwritten, policy of only allowing monuments that pertain to the city's history or by those with long-standing ties to the Pleasant Grove community. They say Summum lacks both of these.

Brian Barnard, attorney for Summum, said the park is a traditional public forum and that when the Fraternal Order of Eagles donated the Ten Commandments monument to the city around 1970, the group had only been in Pleasant Grove two years. Barnard said this challenges the city's long-standing ties policy.

Barnard also pointed out that the city accepted a Sunstone taken from the LDS temple at Nauvoo, Ill., donated by a Pleasant Grove resident. The stone is displayed in the park, Barnard said.

Barnard argued that the city cannot be selective about what monuments it accepts based on the subject and cannot discriminate if they disagree with the subject.

Benson admitted the city has an "uphill road" in justifying the long-ties argument but historic relevance is a larger issue. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that displays of the Ten Commandments can be allowed on government property as long as the focus is on historic relevance, such as among a display of historic monuments. The Supreme Court ruled, however, that Ten Commandments displays that focus on religion are not allowed.

The comparison was made to Summum's similar suit against Ogden over a similar monument outside the city's old City Hall. That case went to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which overturned a lower court ruling in favor of Ogden. The circuit court ruled that Ogden's monument lacked historic significance and the monument was removed from city property and relocated nearby on private property.

A third lawsuit filed against Duchesne is pending before the 10th Circuit after city officials there deeded the land under the monument to a private citizen in an effort to avoid legal controversy.

Benson said if Pleasant Grove can prove its policy is "viewpoint neutral" then the city would prevail.

Attorney Francis Manion said there is a difference between expressing viewpoints verbally and erecting a permanent structure. Manion said he believes the city can prove that although the policy wasn't written, it has been in place for decades.

Trying to have some sense of humor, Benson asked both sides if they could resolve the issue without his help. "Can you settle this thing?" Benson said. "Maybe you can let them have five commandments."

Outside court, Manion said the serious reality is that the city and Summum are not likely to find a settlement and that the case is likely to go before Benson for a bench trial.

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