Split decision in religion case
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Duchesne won the war but lost the battle in its dispute with a Salt Lake City religious group that wanted to place its own monument next to a Ten Commandments monolith in the eastern Utah city. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson awarded Summum the $20 in damages the church had requested and ordered Duchesne to pay the group's attorney fees. Last year, Benson rejected a bid by Summum to display its Seven Aphorisms in what had been part of a public park. After the church sued in 2003 over the refusal, the city converted the Roy Park parcel holding the Ten Commandments into private property. The monolith now is enclosed in a fence and a sign announces that it sits on private property. Benson ruled then that making the parcel private had clearly disassociated the city from sponsorship of religious expression and meant Roy Park no longer was a public forum. However, in his latest decision, the judge said Duchesne had violated the First Amendment in its initial rejection of the request because the Ten Commandments display was on municipal property at the time. Brian Barnard, Summum's lawyer, said he will request about $75,000 in fees. Summum, founded in 1975, is based on Egyptian customs and includes winemaking and mummifications among its practices. - Pamela Manson

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