Appeals court OKs 10 Commandments monolith in Everett

A Ten Commandments monument outside Everett's former City Hall does not violate the constitutional separation of church and state, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June 2005 issued a pivotal pair of decisions on displays of the Ten Commandments on public property, decreeing that a monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds was constitutional and two displays in Kentucky courthouses were not.

Several months later the U.S. District Court upheld the legality of the Everett monolith, finding that its circumstances resembled the Texas case.

The appeals court on Wednesday agreed, upholding the ruling of District Court Judge Robert Lasnik. The opinion, written by Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, notes the secular origins of the granite monolith, its nonsacred setting and a historic lack of community controversy.

The 6-foot-tall monument, near Wall Street and Wetmore Avenue outside the city's police department, was installed by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1959. The Eagles erected hundreds of the granite monuments across the country in the 1950s, inspired in part by Cecil B. DeMille's popular 1956 movie "The Ten Commandments."

An Everett resident, Jesse Card, filed the suit with free legal assistance from Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The recent appeal was handled by a team of lawyers from Seattle and Washington, D.C.

"We're disappointed in the ruling," said Ayesha Khan, legal director for the group. "I think the court failed to appreciate the distinction between a comprehensive display [in Texas] that highlights the Ten Commandments' secular aspect and a solitary display that broadcasts the Ten Commandments' religious aspects."

Everett spokeswoman Kate Reardon said the city always believed it had a strong case because of the "historical significance" of the Eagles' gift.

"It's nice to know that the higher court agrees," she said.

Seattle Times reporter Sonia Krishnan contributed to this report.

Diane Brooks: 425-745-7802 or dbrooks@seattletimes.com