PIERRE, S.D –   South Dakota Attorney General Marty  Jackley announces that South Dakota has joined with 20 other State Attorneys General as amicus curiae, or friend of the court, requesting that the United States Supreme Court review whether a monument of the Ten Commandments placed on city property violates the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution.

“One of my primary responsibilities as Attorney General is to protect state and individual rights.  The joining State Attorneys General seek freedom to erect, authorize, and maintain constitutional religious displays on public property without the ongoing threat of wasteful litigation and request our United States Supreme Court clarify its Establishment Clause doctrine,” said Jackley.

The brief requests the United States Supreme Court grant certiorari to clarify when religious text and symbols on monuments many be displayed on public property without violating the Establishment Clause. The State Attorneys General request the Supreme Court provide a clear, workable test for lower federal courts in order to avoid the potential of all states having to enter into costly litigation to preserve the historical practice of religious monuments on public property.

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