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Eleventh Circuit Says No to ACLU's Standing on Ten Commandments Monument Challenge

8/21/12

By: Dana Maine
The Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion last week which clearly delineates elements of standing in First Amendment symbolic speech cases. In American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Inc. v. Dixie County, Florida, decided on August 15, 2012, the Eleventh Circuit concluded that the trial court erred in finding the plaintiff had standing to challenge the constitutionality of the existence of a Ten Commandments monument on county courthouse property. The Eleventh Circuit sent the matter back to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing. In an interesting opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, Judge Edmondson disagreed with the remand. Instead, he explained that the Eleventh Circuit should have decided the plaintiff lacked standing based on the record before the Court.