Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A federal judge has awarded attorneys' fees to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit over a Ten Commandments display at a county courthouse.

U.S. District Judge Joseph H. McKinley awarded the more than $44,000 in attorney fees to the plaintiffs - Raymond Harper, Ed Meredith and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky - who won an injunction against displaying the commandments in the county courthouse. They were represented by ACLU attorneys David Friedman and William E. Sharp.

"Because there are no special circumstances which would render an award of attorneys fees unjust, the plaintiffs are entitled to an award of attorney fees...," McKinley wrote.

Friedman and Sharp represented Harper and Meredith, who sued in 2001 claiming the intent of displaying the commandments in a public building was religious and violated the Constitution. In March, McKinley granted a permanent injunction barring the display of the Ten Commandments as part of a "Foundations of American Law and Government" display.

No public money was used to set up the display in the county courthouse in Leitchfield, about 75 miles southwest of Louisville.