By Kimberly Greuter Staff Writer

A federal judge has ruled for the Ten Commandments to be removed from two Hamilton County courthouses, but when those plaques will come down is another question.

Attorneys for Hamilton County were mum on whether they will appeal U.S. District Court Judge R. Allan Edgar's ruling Friday ordering the Ten Commandments be taken down from the Hamilton County Courthouse and the Hamilton County-Chattanooga Courts Building. Judge Edgar ruled the plaintiffs did not have standing to challenge the postings in Hamilton County Juvenile Court, the third courthouse where they have been posted.

"We are presently reviewing the court's ruling to determine the next appropriate step," County Attorney Rheubin Taylor said in a statement read at a news conference.

There is no deadline in Judge Edgar's order as to when the plaques must be removed.

If officials decide to appeal the ruling, their attorneys could ask Judge Edgar for a stay to the order directing them to take down the plaques. With no appeal and a delay in removing the plaques, the plaintiffs could ask the judge to find the county in contempt.

However, Mr. Taylor did say the county intends to "comply with any final ruling of the court."

In a 13-page opinion, Judge Edgar said the displays of the Ten Commandments in the two courthouses violated the plaintiffs' rights under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"Courts are places where there must be equality and justice, and where persons of all religious or nonreligious persuasions in this diverse nation of ours must have confidence that they are getting fair treatment," Judge Edgar wrote. "This is reason enough for the government to refrain from giving the appearance that courthouses are only for those who adhere to the Ten Commandments."

At a trial on Monday and in court briefs, defense attorneys argued the commandments were posted not for a religious purpose, but to remind citizens to obey the law after the events of Sept. 11. However, Judge Edgar said that rationale was unconvincing.

"Any secular purpose the commission may have had is difficult to discern. If it had a secular purpose, that purpose was overborne by a religious one," Judge Edgar wrote.

Kathleen Flake, an assistant professor of American religious history at Vanderbilt University, also said the county's argument was a weak one.

"For whatever good motive they might have had, their intention was to establish the Ten Commandments as laws of the state, and that's what disestablishment is all about," she said.

Rabbi Philip Posner of Mitpah Congregation, one of the plaintiffs ruled to have standing, said he hoped the decision would open discussion in the city.

"I hope this issue will be an example of the necessity in Chattanooga of more dialogue between religious, liberal and conservative communities so that we might better understand with empathy each other's positions," he said.

Tom Bibler, another plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the plaques promote a specific religious view. Dr. Bibler is head of the Teacher Preparation Academy at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. His students sometimes take field trips to the courthouses, and those students are of various religious backgrounds.

"It seems to me it's a Christian religious document," he said.

Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the Tennessee ACLU, said the decision promotes religious freedom.

"My hope is county commissions across the state will recognize it is best for all people in the community to keep government out of the business of promoting a particular religious doctrine," Ms. Weinberg said.

The Ten Commandments were erected in the courthouses in December, after a majority of Hamilton County commissioners voted to post them. The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and 13 local residents filed suit earlier this year against Hamilton County and its commissioners. In his opinion, Judge Edgar ruled that only the ACLU and two of the residents had standing to bring the suit because there was no evidence the others "endured unwelcome contact" while conducting business in the courthouses.

Judge Edgar also ruled there was no evidence the plaintiffs came in contact with the Ten Commandments in Juvenile Court, and Mr. Taylor said it appears from the ruling that the plaque can remain there.

Charles Wysong, president of Ten Commandments-Tennessee, said the decision to order the commandments down in two courthouses but not in the third courthouse was "utter nonsense."

"It is nothing more than an attempt on his part to bring forth some teen-age rebel to further this fight against God," Mr. Wysong said.

A number of counties and cities across the state, including Soddy-Daisy, Marion County and Bradley County, have posted the Ten Commandments. Soddy-Daisy Vice Mayor Jim Adams said he disagrees with the ruling and said there are no immediate plans to take down the Ten Commandments there.

Staff writers Chris Joyner and Laure Chamberlain contributed to this report.