WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court said a Justice Department lawyer may argue in support of Kentucky counties that want to keep the Ten Commandments on public property.
The case marks the first time the federal government will argue for the display in the nation's highest court.
A lawyer from the U.S. Solicitor General's office will join a lawyer for the counties when argument is heard this spring.
The justices also will hear separate argument on a Ten Commandments monument on the Texas Statehouse grounds.
Led by the American Civil Liberties Union, seven people filed suit in 1999 in federal court against the display of framed copies of the commandments in the McCreary and Pulaski, Ky., county courthouses, and schools in Harlan County.
The courthouse displays, "Foundations of American Law and Government Display," include various documents that donors said played a role in the U.S. system of law and government.
The 1961 Texas monument is one of several on the Statehouse grounds, but the only one with a religious message.
