Settle tablets lawsuit, city told

A federal judge on Wednesday reiterated his belief that the city of Duchesne may be on losing ground in a lawsuit over the placement of a Ten Commandments monument, giving both sides until July 4 to discuss settlement possibilities in earnest.

After that time, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson said he would issue a ruling in the case. And given his latest observations, it appears that decision will likely favor the Salt Lake City-based religious group Summum.

"Under the current circumstances, I am inclined to believe that Mr. Barnard has presented a case that is likely to be successful on the merits," Benson said. "I'm inviting you again to try to think of some way to sit down and talk to each other."

Civil rights attorney Brian Barnard filed the civil-rights lawsuit on behalf of Summum last fall, asking that the organization be allowed to erect a monument of its Seven Aphorisms next to a Ten Commandments monolith in the city's Roy Park. The tablet has sat on government-owned property in the park for the past 25 years, but last year the city sold the 10-foot-by-11-foot piece of land to the Duchesne Lions Club to avoid litigation.

On Wednesday, Benson called the move "a cute trick" but suggested it is not enough to absolve the city from liability.

"The city has not, at present . . . done enough to disassociate itself from the monument," the judge said.

Benson said the transaction is "fraught with self-dealing," noting that Duchesne Mayor Clint Park is also president of the Lions Club. Park's signature appears twice on the property transfer.

Barnard argues the city created a public forum for expression by allowing the monument to stand on public property for a quarter of a century. And although the marble tablet is now technically on private land, he said, there still exists a public forum that will only be extinguished if the monument is moved out of the park altogether.

The Seven Aphorisms are comparable to the Ten Commandments, he said, and will make the city of Duchesne "a better place."

Edward White, attorney for the city, said the Lions Club is in the process of erecting a barrier around the monument to make clear it stands on private property. By selling the property, White said, the city got itself out of the business of sanctioning any kind of speech.

Both White and Barnard indicated Wednesday they were willing to attempt to negotiate a settlement to the case. They are to contact Benson prior to July 4 to report the status of those negotiations.

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com