Oklahoma Supreme Court Denies Rehearing Ten Commandments Monument Case

Last month, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the State Capitol was unconstitutional:

Governor Mary Fallin said at the time that the monument isn’t going anywhere. At least not until she exhausted every appeal from the other branches of government:

“Oklahoma is a state where we respect the rule of law, and we will not ignore the state courts or their decisions,” Fallin said. “However, we are also a state with three co-equal branches of government.

“At this time, Attorney General Scott Pruitt, with my support, has filed a petition requesting rehearing of the Ten Commandments case. Additionally, our Legislature has signaled its support for pursuing changes to our state Constitution that will make it clear the Ten Commandments monument is legally permissible. If legislative efforts are successful, the people of Oklahoma will get to vote on this issue.

“During this process, which will involve both legal appeals and potential legislative and constitutional changes, the Ten Commandments monument will remain on the Capitol grounds.”

One of their options is no longer on the table. Today, the State Supreme Court basically told Pruitt: We weren’t kidding with our earlier decision. The monument is still unconstitutional.

The state’s highest court on Monday denied a rehearing that had been requested by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.

Chief Justice John Reif wrote in the court’s concurring opinion that justices carefully considered the Pruitt’s arguments on behalf of the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission and found nothing to merit a rehearing in the case.

Constitution: 2. God: 0.

Give it a minute, though. I’m sure you’ll hear the usual right-wing complaints about unelected judges who act like they’re above the law…

No word yet on whether the monument will finally come down now.

(Thanks to Brian for the link. Portions of this article were published earlier)