PIKEVILLE — A federal judge has again ordered the Ten Commandments removed from schools and courthouses in three eastern Kentucky counties.

        Judge Jennifer Coffman filed the order Friday in U.S. District Court in London, saying the displays must be removed immediately, writing the word in capital letters to add emphasis.

        Supporters of the Ten Commandments, who lost the same battle last year, were outraged that Judge Coffman had granted the preliminary injunction pending the outcome of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.

        “It's unbelievable that she would rule this way,” said David Carr, vice president of the Ten Commandments Advancement Fund in Kentucky. “The ruling is unconstitutional, un-American and very, very disturbing.”

        The ACLU filed a lawsuit in November 1999 after the Harlan County school board and the McCreary and Pulaski fiscal courts posted the commandments.

        Judge Coffman ordered the commandments removed last year, but officials in each of the counties put them back up after adding other historical documents, including the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.

        David Friedman, attorney for the ACLU, said given the displays' history, it's obvious that the purpose is not to simply show historical documents. He contends the purpose is to endorse religion, and posting documents such as the Declaration of Independence gives the impression that government endorses the commandments.

        Mathew Staver, an attorney for the Liberty Counsel in Orlando, Fla., said he believes adding the other documents made the display constitutional.

        Judge Coffman sided with the ACLU, which alleged the displays violated a constitutional divide between church and state. Posting other documents alongside the commandments caused additional concerns, she said.

        “Given the religious nature of this document, placing it among these patriotic and political documents, with no other religious symbols or moral codes of any kind, imbues it with a national significance constituting endorsement,” Judge Coffman wrote.

        In March, Judge Coffman asked the opposing sides to negotiate a compromise. Attorneys for the ACLU and the Liberty Counsel could not reach an agreement.

        Johnnie Turner, attorney for the Harlan County schools, said the order apparently calls for removal of all the documents in the display. He said he was surprised that documents such as the Declaration of Independence would be ordered taken down.

        Judge Coffman cited case law that said it's the duty of the courts to distinguish a “sham secular purpose from a sincere one.” She said the history of the displays belies the secular intentions.

        “That particular statement is unreasonable and uncalled for,” Mr. Carr said. “The Ten Commandments, regardless of whether you like them or not, are part of American history.”

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