Court fights ACLU over display

LANCASTER, Ky. -- The Garrard Fiscal Court has decided to fight the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky in its civil suit to have the Ten Commandments display taken down from a wall in the county courthouse.\nIn a special meeting Tuesday, magistrates went into executive session to discuss the suit -- filed last week by the ACLU against County-Judge Executive E.J. Hasty.\n"We're going to leave (the display) hanging," said Magistrate Ronnie Lane in his motion. He said an attorney will be chosen at the next fiscal court meeting.\nMagistrate Norman Davis seconded Lane's motion. The vote by the five county representatives was unanimous. Magistrate F.C. Foley could not be reached for comment after the meeting, but three of the four remaining magistrates left no doubt about their convictions.\n"I'm not letting the ACLU tell us what we have to (do)," Lane said after the vote.\nLane said his constituents are telling him they want the display to remain.\n"I'm just doing what I think is right," said Norman Davis, who had seconded Lane's motion.\nThe display was posted in December 1999 after the court approved the request to post it by a local minister. It includes a large copy of the Commandments surrounded by a quote from Abraham Lincoln, copies of The Mayflower Compact, the preambles of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of Kentucky and others.\nCounty Attorney Jeff Moss said he has been contacted by three legal firms offering to take the case at no cost. He noted that no county funds to date have been spent on the display.\nNov. 27, the ACLU also filed suit in federal court against Mercer County Judge-Executive Charles McGinnis, as well as against Rowan and Grayson counties.