PEEBLES, Ohio — A federal magistrate says a display of the Ten Commandments on stone tablets must be removed from four public schools in rural Adams County.

        But it won't happen until the school district surrenders its constitutional fight. At least one Adams County-Ohio Valley school board member wants to appeal.

        It's “the most logical thing,” board President Jeff Ryan said.

        U.S. Magistrate Timothy Hogan's ruling came the same day this week that another federal judge ruled that a Ten Commandments poster must be removed from a common pleas courtroom in Richland County.

        Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed lawsuits to challenge both displays, had argued that displaying the Ten Commandments in public forums violates the Constitution by appearing to be government endorsement of religion.

        Magistrate Hogan “didn't make up new ideas. He followed the guidelines of the courts before him,” said Chris Link, executive director for the ACLU in Ohio. “The decision in this case was expected. It follows well-established church-state law.”

        Frank Manion, a lawyerwith the American Center for Law and Justice and is defending both displays, said Friday he will urge the Adams County school board to appeal. He said he has already filed an appeal in the Richland County case.

        Both cases would then go to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

        Magistrate Hogan said the 3-foot-tall stone tablets must be removed unless his ruling is appealed.

        The ACLU filed its lawsuit in 1999 on behalf of Peebles resident Berry Baker, who objected to the display.

        After the ACLU sued, the school system supplemented the Ten Commandments display with other tablets exhibiting the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights, arguing that they were then part of a legally acceptable, secular exhibit. The ACLU said having the Ten Commandments in the display was still unconstitutional.

        The Adams County Ministerial Associationraised the money for the 3-foot stone tablets that were erected outside the public school facilities in fall 1997.

        The Rev. Ken Johnson, an association member, knows that many communities have taken down the Ten Commandments rather than pursue a lengthy, expensive court battle.

        But he is optimistic about Adams County's chances if the school board decides to appeal.

        “I know what the courts are thinking. I can't agree with them, but I do know what they're thinking,” he said.

       Susan Vela contributed to this report.

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