Constitutional Law

Federal judge throws out N.D. Ten Commandments suit

By By The Associated Press

FARGO, N.D. ? A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit over a Ten Commandments monument in downtown Fargo.

The lawsuit by the Red River Freethinkers group claims the city gave the monument a religious purpose in voting three years ago to keep it. The city argued that the case should be dismissed for lack of merit.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson ruled on Sept. 8 to accept the recommendations of U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Klein, who said the Freethinkers should not be allowed to challenge the city's decision to keep the marker.

The city originally had voted to move it.

The monument was donated to the city in 1958, to commemorate an urban renewal project. It was installed on its current site near the Fargo Civic Auditorium in 1961.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on September 11, 2010 (boomark / email).