VAN ORDEN v. PERRY

No. 02-51184.

351 F.3d 173 (2003)

Thomas VAN ORDEN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Rick PERRY, in his official capacity as Governor of Texas and Chairman, State Preservation Board; David Dewhurst, in his official capacity as Co-Vice Chairman, State Preservation Board and President of the Senate of Texas; Tom Craddick, in his official capacity as Co-Vice Chairman, State Preservation Board and Speaker of the House of Representatives of Texas; Chris Harris, in his official capacity as Member of the State Preservation Board; Peggy Hamrick, in her official capacity as Member of the State Preservation Board; Jocelyn Levi Straus, in her official capacity as Member of the Texas Preservation Board; Charlynn Doering, in her official capacity as Interim Executive Director, State Preservation Board, Defendants-Appellees.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

November 12, 2003.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Thomas Van Orden (argued), Austin, TX, pro se.

R. Ted Cruz (argued), Paul Michael Winget-Hernandez, Amy Warr, Austin, TX, for Defendants-Appellees.

Mathew D. Staver, Rena Marie-Anne Lindevaldsen, Joel Lee Oster, Erik William Stanley, Anita Leigh Staver, Liberty Counsel, Longwood, FL, for Liberty Counsel, Amicus Curiae.

David S. Lill, Clark, Thomas & Winters, Austin, TX, Kelly J. Shackelford, Liberty Legal Institute, Plano, TX, for Liberty Legal Institute, Amicus Curiae.

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, STEWART, and PRADO, Circuit Judges.


PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:

The plaintiff, Thomas Van Orden, asks the federal courts to order the State of Texas to remove from the grounds of the State Capitol a granite monument in which the Ten Commandments are etched. In a bench trial, the district court considered documents, testimony, and an extensive stipulation of facts filed by the parties. In a careful opinion, the court rejected the claim of First Amendment violations and entered judgment for...

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