BUCYRUS, Ohio (AP) — A Crawford County judge has hung a poster of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom to show support for a colleague who is being sued over a similar display.
Common Pleas Judge Nelfred Kimerline put up the framed poster the day the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed a federal lawsuit in Cleveland against Richland County Common Pleas Judge James DeWeese.
The ACLU suit says DeWeese's poster violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
DeWeese placed the poster in his Mansfield courtroom with other historical documents as part of a display he calls the "The Rule of Law."
"I think everyone has to take a stand in their life," Kimerline said. "Instead of being one with the silent majority, I want to support him fully."
He said he is urging other judges statewide to display the Ten Commandments.
"They are just good principles for an organized society to live by in peace and safety," Kimerline said. "We are not trying to shove them down anyone's throat. They are there to read if people choose to do so."
DeWeese said he appreciates Kimerline's actions.