Turner v. Habersham County, Georgia

• Decision Date: 17 November 2003
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 2:02-CV-39-WCO.
• Citation: 290 F.Supp.2d 1362
• Parties: Charles (Bo) TURNER and Gregg Holder, Plaintiffs, v. HABERSHAM COUNTY, GEORGIA, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

290 F.Supp.2d 1362

Charles (Bo) TURNER and Gregg Holder, Plaintiffs, v. HABERSHAM COUNTY, GEORGIA, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 2:02-CV-39-WCO.

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Gainesville Division.

November 17, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Ralph S. Goldberg, Office of Ralph S. Goldberg, Frank L. Derrickson, Office of Frank L. Derrickson, Decatur, GA, Gerald R. Weber, Robert Lo-Pei Tsai, American Civil Liberties Union, Foundation of Georgia, Inc., Atlanta, GA, for plaintiffs.

Cadman Robb Kiker, Adams Ellard & Frankum, Clarkesville, GA, Douglas W. McDonald, Sr., McDonald & Cody, Cornelia, GA, Donald Andrew Cronin, Jr., O'Quinn & Cronin, McDonough, GA, Mathew D. Staver, phv, Liberty Counsel, Longwood, FL, for defendants.

OPINION

O'KELLEY, Senior District Judge.

The Ten Commandments constitute the holy law as delivered by God to Moses at Mount Sinai and express tenants central to Jewish and Christian faiths. Many of those who have devoted their professional lives to the study of legal history believe that those same Ten Commandments were also central to the formation of many secular legal systems. Prominent church-state commentator and Senior Ninth Circuit Judge John T. Noonan, Jr. believes they represent "the most influential law code in history." John T. Noonan, Jr., The Believer and the Powers That Are 4 (Macmillan 1987). This lawsuit concerns the extent to which the Ten Commandments can be displayed in public buildings without running afoul of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Based on the evidence presented during a one-day bench trial, the court holds that Habersham County's display of the Ten Commandments violates the Establishment Clause.

I. Findings of Fact

Plaintiffs Charles "Bo" Turner and Gregg Holder originally brought suit against Habersham County, Georgia ("the county") and Dewey Tench, individually and in his official capacity as Chairman of the Habersham County Board of Commissioners ("the board"). Plaintiffs challenged the county's decision to publicly display the Ten Commandments at the Habersham County courthouse ("the courthouse") and the Habersham County natatorium ("the natatorium"). Plaintiffs subsequently amended their complaint to add Habersham County Sheriff Rick Moore as a defendant after the Ten Commandments were posted on the wall of the Habersham County jail ("the jail"). By the time this case was ready for trial, plaintiffs had dismissed their claims against defendants Tench and Moore. Furthermore, the parties agreed that the Ten Commandments had been removed from the jail, which was under the jurisdiction of Sheriff Moore. Accordingly, the trial proceeded solely as to the county defendant and concerned only the displays at the courthouse and natatorium.

Plaintiff Charles "Bo" Turner is a citizen of Habersham County, Georgia and an ordained Baptist minister. He testified that he has previously visited the courthouse to pay his real estate taxes and car tag fees. He recounted that he takes his grandchildren to the natatorium. Plaintiff Gregg Holder is a self-defined atheist, a resident of Habersham County, and an employee of the City of Demorest fire department. He testified that he has responded to the courthouse as an employee of the fire department and has been there for county commission meetings. Holder also stated that he has visited the natatorium for fire training classes and for organizational meetings.

The course of events giving rise to this litigation began on May 7, 2001 when Mr. R.W. Moore, a resident of Stephens County, Georgia, petitioned the board to adopt the following resolution:

WE, THE BELOW-SIGNED SETTING [sic] COMMISSION OF HABERSHAM COUNTY, IN CONSIDERATION OF OUR BIBLICAL HISTORY OF GEORGIA, BOTH IN OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEVOTIONAL ACTS IN OUR HERITAGE, HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF ALMIGHTY GOD AND WISH TO GO ON RECORD IN SUPPORT OF THIS MAGNIFICENT DOCUMENT AND STATE THAT WE WILL DEFEND OUR RIGHT TO DISPLAY TO THE LIMIT OF OUR ABILITY, AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE.

IN THE ENACTING OF THIS RESOLUTION, WE HEREBY PETITION THE GOD OF HEAVEN TO PRESERVE THE PEACE WHICH HE HAS SO GRACIOUSLY EXTENDED TO U.S. BY OUR ANCIENT ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND BEG HIS CONTINUED PROTECTION AND ALLEVIATION OF ILLS WHICH COME TO THOSE WHO FORGET HIM AND HIS LAW.

In his presentation to the board, Mr. Moore noted that he was "on a mission to restore God back into our governments" and urged the board to be "leaders in God's work." Mr. Fish, a member of the board, indicated his agreement with Mr. Moore's sentiments and made a motion to accept the resolution, which was adopted unanimously.

In accordance with the resolution, the county posted copies of the Ten Commandments at the courthouse and at the natatorium. The displays consisted of the King James version of the Ten Commandments from Exodus chapter 20, verses three through seventeen, and appeared as follows:

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water underneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbour.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Although the parties did not provide an exact date on which the Ten Commandments were actually placed in the courthouse and at the natatorium, the court has no reason to believe there was any significant delay between when the resolution was passed and when the documents were displayed. Furthermore, it is clear that the county did not use any of its own funds to purchase the copies of the Ten Commandments, and the parties have not identified any significant maintenance costs.

On March 27, 2002, plaintiffs initiated this lawsuit. At a meeting on August 5, 2002, the board adopted a resolution accepting a private donation of historically significant documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Mayflower Compact, the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution, the Magna Carta, the National Anthem, and Lady Justice. The resolution was signed and became effective on October 7, 2002. After listing the donated documents, the resolution went on to provide in pertinent part that:

WHEREAS, the Habersham County Board of Commissioners believes that the display of those documents and symbols in the courthouse and the natatorium in conjunction with the already posted Ten Commandment displays, and in other county offices and buildings, will culturally enrich the citizens of this county due to the special historical significance of these documents and symbols to our county and our country. More specifically, the above-cited displays will create a sense of historical context, civic duty and responsibility, will foster a general appreciation and understanding of the law of this land, and will instill qualities desirable of the citizens of this county; and

WHEREAS, the Habersham County Board of Commissioners believes that the display of historically significant documents and symbols is particularly appropriate and important in light of the attacks against this country on September 11, 2001; ...

BE IT[] RESOLVED, that the historically significant documents and symbols be posted at the courthouse, the natatorium and other county offices and buildings.

The historical documents accepted in the second resolution were posted in the natatorium, along with the previously displayed copy of the Ten Commandments. That collection consists of seven framed documents, each in close proximity to the others. The courthouse display includes the above-listed documents from the second resolution, absent the Mayflower Compact, and the previously posted copy of the Ten Commandments. In the courthouse collection, the documents are placed in a straight line along one wall in front of the main entrance to the building. Plaintiffs protested the fact that the Ten Commandments were larger and employed different font size and color than the other documents. The county replaced the previously displayed copies of the Ten Commandments with ones that matched the other documents in size and appearance.

II. Conclusions of Law

A. Standing

Although the issue was not directly raised by defendant, the court will briefly discuss plaintiffs' standing to bring this lawsuit. Under Article III of the United States Constitution, federal courts may resolve only actual "cases" or "controversies." Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 750, 104 S.Ct. 3315, 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984). To satisfy the "case" or "controversy" requirement, a plaintiff must demonstrate that he has suffered injury in fact, that the injury is fairly traceable to the actions of the defendant, and that the injury will likely be redressed by a favorable decision from the court. Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 162, 117 S.Ct. 1154, 137 L.Ed.2d 281 (1997). Both plaintiffs in this case demonstrated that they have been forced to encounter the offensive displays. Plaintiff Turner used the courthouse to pay taxes and car registration fees and visited the natatorium with his grandchildren. Plaintiff Holder responded to emergency...