LEXINGTON, N.C. — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to remove the words “In God We Trust” from the Davidson County Governmental Center, a ruling that plaintiffs say they will appeal.
U.S. District Court Judge William L. Osteen ruled last week that the display does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s guidelines on the separation of church and state, as Thomasville lawyers Charles Lambeth and Michael Lea had argued.
The display “will not produce an excessive entanglement of church and state,” Osteen wrote in his ruling, issued May 25.
The Davidson County Board of Commissioners approved the motto’s installation by a 4-2 vote following a public hearing in November 2002. The display, which was paid for with donations from individuals and local churches, was installed in late December 2002.
Lambeth and Lea requested the motto be removed in a federal lawsuit filed June 24, 2003. Reached May 28, the men said they would appeal Osteen’s ruling to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“It’s not over yet, by any means,” Lambeth said.
Lea called the court’s decision disappointing. “It’s a precedent that I think could lead to some bad things,” he said, speculating that the ruling would lead county government to further allow the motto’s placement on public property.
“It’s a political thing, and they can put it on uniforms and brag about doing that,” he added. “It’s an election year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on uniforms, on county vehicles.”
Winston-Salem lawyer Jim Morgan, who represented the commissioners in the lawsuit, called the decision “a great victory for Davidson County and its citizens.”
Former county Commissioner Rick Lanier, who led the drive to place the motto on the government center, called the ruling a victory for the vast majority of Davidson County residents.
“It says to me that there is still hope for maintaining our godly American heritage and the roots that our country was founded on,” Lanier said.
Lanier said he would now try to display the motto in other locations.
“We were just waiting for a victory here,” he said. “We plan to introduce it in some other counties and cities as well.”