Trial set for lawsuit over Arkansas Capitol Ten Commandments

Ty AlbrightFebruary 12, 2020

Ten Commandments Arkansas — FILE - In this June 28, 2017, file photo, a Ten Commandments monument outside the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., is blocked off after a man crashed into it with a vehicle, less than 24 hours after the privately funded monument was installed on the Capitol grounds. (AP Photo/Jill Zeman Bleed, File)

(AP) A trial seeking the removal of a privately funded Ten Commandments monument from the Arkansas Capitol grounds is set to begin this summer.

U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker on Monday ordered the trial over the privately funded monument to begin the week of July 13.

Opponents of the monument sued the state over the display, arguing it’s an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by government.

The granite monument replaces a display that was destroyed in 2017 less than 24 hours after its installation. A 2015 law required the state to allow the privately funded monument on Capitol grounds.

Ty AlbrightFebruary 12, 2020