Judge orders 2 counties to pay $393,000 in attorneys fees in Ten Commandments case

A federal judge has ordered a pair of southern Kentucky counties to pay $393,798 in attorneys fees stemming from their defense of posting the Ten Commandments in courthouses.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that U.S. District Judge Jennifer B. Coffman ruled that Pulaski and McCreary counties must pay the funds to two attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky.

The ACLU of Kentucky successfully challenged the displays in federal court in a legal battle that started a decade ago. But the attorney for the counties, two of the poorest in Kentucky, says they don't have to pay yet because parts of the case remain unsettled on appeal.

Mathew Staver, who represents both counties, said insurance companies may cover the legal bill if the counties ultimately have to pay.

Staver, founder and chairman of the Christian legal group Liberty Counsel, said if the counties win the case on appeal, they wouldn't have to pay the ACLU.

McCreary County Judge-Executive Blaine Phillips said he doesn't think the county's insurance policy would cover its share of the payment.

Phillips said McCreary County might seek donations if it has to split the cost of the Ten Commandments fight with Pulaski County.

"That'll be a hard pill to swallow" if the county has to pay the judgment, Phillips said.

The counties disputed the fee request, calling it unreasonable and claiming the attorneys spent too much time on tasks like legal research and sought fees that were too high.

Coffman noted that the case consumed 1,300 work hours over 10 years by lead ACLU attorney David A. Friedman, with assistance from William E. Sharp.

Coffman also noted that the counties' own actions ran up the legal bill in the case.

The counties started the court battle by posting stand-alone copies of the Ten Commandments that were "indisputably unconstitutional" at the time, then fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend their actions instead of settling the case, Coffman said.

Addressing both cases, the U.S. Supreme Court said in 2005 that Ten Commandments displays on government property are not inherently unconstitutional and must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

But it said the framed displays in eastern Kentucky's McCreary and Pulaski counties went too far in endorsing religion when they modified the displays with documents demonstrating "America's Christian heritage." Those included the national motto of "In God We Trust" and a version of the Congressional Record declaring 1983 the "Year of the Bible."

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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com