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Mccreary County V. ACLU Case Study

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McCreary County v. ACLU (2005) Pinson, 4

McCreary County v. ACLU
Asher Pinson
Liberty High School
AP US Government, 2A

McCreary County v. ACLU was a significant case for the Establishment Clause, freedom of religion, and the First Amendment itself. This case made its way into the Supreme Court in the later part of 2004, and a decision was reached in the middle of 2005. This case extended the power of the Establishment Clause to prohibit the public display of religious texts in government-funded buildings.
Three counties in Kentucky, one of which was McCreary County, posted framed copies of the King James Version of the Ten Commandments in their public schools and courthouses. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued them for …show more content…

First, was displaying the Ten Commandments in courthouses and public schools a violation of the First Amendment?s establishment clause that prevents the government from passing laws in favor of any religion (Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, 2004a)? Secondly, was an assumption that the purpose of these displays had been for promoting religion enough of a determination for prohibition (Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, 2004a)?
With a dissenting opinion on the matter, Justice Scalia first tells how he was in Rome, Italy on September 11, 2001. The President of the United States gave an address to the nation, ending it with ?God bless America.? A judge from a European country approached Scalia, giving his condolences. The judge then lamented over the inability to conclude an address with ?God bless____,? as it was forbidden. Scalia says that such a model of separation between church and state is one from Napoleon, and that it is not the model America uses. He then mentions that the First President believed that there was a God, saying that he opened his Presidency with a prayer. With all this, he says that the Court can?t say that the government must be neutral on

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