Nation's highest court may review Ten Commandments cases

Published: Tuesday, March 25 2008 12:36 p.m. MDT

The United States Supreme Court is slated to review the Ten Commandments cases of two Utah cities to determine if justices will accept the case for review.

Salt Lake City attorney Brian Barnard said the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to review the appeals of Duchesne and Pleasant Grove cities on Friday and by Monday the nation's top court will decide if it will hear the cases.

Barnard represents the religious group Summum, which is trying to erect a display of its "Seven Aphorisms" next to displays of the Ten Commandments, located in two of the cities' parks.

Last November, the Washington D.C.-based legal group, the American Center for Law and Justice, announced it was appealing a 10th Circuit decision to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the two cities.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled in April of last year that Summum had a right under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to erect their display. Their ruling was consistent with its previous decision in a similar case against Ogden City, which forced the city to relocated its Ten Commandments display onto private property.

All of the the monuments were donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles many years ago.

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