Everett
Legal bills mount in Everett's Ten Commandments case

By The Associated Press

JIMI LOTT / THE SEATTLE TIMES, 2001 A boy runs down the sidewalk in front of the Everett Police Department, where a disputed Ten Commandments monument is displayed.

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EVERETT — This city's legal bills are nearing the six-figure mark as it defends itself against a federal lawsuit alleging that a Ten Commandments monument on city property is unconstitutional.

Everett already has paid $70,000 to a Seattle law firm, and that tab could reach $100,000 by the time U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik rules, City Attorney Jim Iles said. That figure doesn't include city staff time, which hasn't been calculated yet.

The Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed the lawsuit last July in federal court in Seattle on behalf of Jesse Card, a 20-year-old Everett resident who says he is offended by the 6-foot-tall granite monument, which sits in front of the police station.

The group alleges a violation of the First Amendment, which mandates that the government make no law respecting an establishment of religion.

Lasnik is scheduled to hear arguments in the Everett case Oct. 4 in Seattle, although lawyers on both sides say a decision could come before then.

If either side appeals, the case would go to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Iles estimated that would cost an additional $50,000 in legal fees.

Americans United's expenses would probably be similar to Everett's, said Ayesha Khan, the legal director for the group. If the city loses, it could be held liable for American United's legal expenses.

In March, Mayor Ray Stephanson cut $3.5 million from the 2004 budget and laid off 17 permanent and seven seasonal employees. He said the city would need to cut $3.7 million more from next year's budget. He has told neighborhood groups that one reason the city needs to cut services is because of unanticipated legal expenses, including this case.

The mayor said his decision to continue spending money on the commandments case was made in consultation with the City Council.

Stephanson said the city's legal arguments are based on solid legal principles. The city maintains the monument, which has been in place since 1959, is a historic landmark that promotes universal values and legal principles, not a particular religion.

In a nearly identical case, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a 2001 appeal of a ruling that the city of Elkhart, Ind., had to remove a similar monument donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the same group that gave Everett its monolith.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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