PHILADELPHIA -- The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled June 26 that a display of the Ten Commandments should remain on a Pennsylvania county courthouse, Baptist Press reported.
The three-judge panel's decision was rooted in the plaque's historical nature, which dates back to 1920, when it was placed on the exterior wall of the Chester County courthouse. The plaque was a gift from a private group.
The court ruled the plaque does not endorse religion and has a secular purpose.
"[T]he reasonable observer would perceive the plaque as part of an historic monument, namely the courthouse itself," wrote judge Edward Becker. "Viewed in this context, the commissioners' refusal to remove the plaque appears even less like an endorsement of religion and more likely motivated by the desire to preserve a plaque that has become part of the courthouse."
The county commissioners refused a request in 2001 to remove the plaque from the building, which is located in West Chester, Pa. Sally Flynn, a Chester County resident, and the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia sued in federal court and won.
The bronze plaque, which is about three feet by four feet, was located next to the entrance of the courthouse until a few years ago. When the courthouse was expanded, the old entrance was closed. The plaque has remained by the closed entrance.
