The legal team at Liberty Counsel has been working tirelessly on the Reply Brief in the United States Supreme Court case of McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky. The Reply Brief will be the last document submitted to the High Court before oral arguments on March 2, 2005. The McCreary case involves the constitutionality of public displays of the Ten Commandments, as well as the ability of the government to acknowledge religion in the public square. Liberty Counsel is in the final stages of crafting a proposed new test that distinguishes between a permissible governmental acknowledgement of religion and religion’s role in American history without endorsing or establishing religion. This new proposed test, which will be submitted in the Reply Brief, will soon be available for review by the public.

In addition to working on the Reply Brief, Mat Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, has been preparing for the oral arguments on March 2, 2005. While Mat had a moot court last Friday in Orlando, Florida, he has three more moot courts within the next two weeks. Though Staver has previously presented oral arguments before the High Court, these mock trials are an important step in preparation for March 2.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in McCreary will impact not only every Ten Commandments display in the country, but may affect every single religious symbol which is on public property, including: crosses on war memorials, scripture references on government buildings, the frieze of Moses holding the Ten Commandments in the Supreme Court chambers, the National Motto “In God We trust,” the Pledge of Allegiance, numerous state mottos and seals which acknowledge God or a Supreme Deity, and non-Christian religious symbols including menorahs, coinage and stamps.

Later this week, Liberty Counsel will be posting on its web site a 60-plus-page Appendix that will be part of the Reply Brief filed next week. This Appendix contains scores of photos and documentation regarding displays of the Ten Commandments and other religious symbols, including the Ten Commandments contained in the seal for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the same court which struck down the Pledge of Allegiance. The Ninth Circuit has recently been sued over this seal that has contained the Decalogue for over 100 years. Liberty Counsel also has on its web site the amicus briefs filed in both the McCreary and the Van Orden v. Perry cases.

Mat Staver is available for interviews. Although the clients are not available at this time, members of the Veterans organization are available. A number of these Veterans took down the Foundations of American Law and Government Display following the district court ruling. In order to accommodate all media requests and interviews before and after oral arguments, please contact Karen Rochester of Liberty Counsel at 1-407-875-2100. Now is the time to schedule interviews. Also, information about this historic case is available on Liberty Counsel's web site, www.LC.org or www.DefendTheTen.org.