Hand To Plow

A federal judge has ruled that a display of the Ten Commandments at an eastern Kentucky courthouse does not violate the Constitution.

The Ten Commandments display, part of the "Foundations of American Law and Government" exhibit at the Rowan County Fiscal Court, came under fire in 2001 when the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky filed a lawsuit claiming the display was unconstitutional.

Aside from the Ten Commandments, the display includes the Mayflower compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights and other commemorative items.

In his ruling released Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Karl Forester said the display "does not have the effect of endorsing religion."

Forester cited a similar case involving Mercer County. That county's display, virtually identical to Rowan County's, was upheld by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

Ten Commandments Song by Tuba Dylan