CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) – There will be no trial in a legal dispute over the Ten Commandments in Western Maryland. The plaintiff has withdrawn his lawsuit.
Jeffrey Davis of Swanton voluntarily dropped the matter without explanation in a letter filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. He declined to explain his decision when reached by telephone Tuesday.
Davis filed the lawsuit in April over the monument on the Allegany County Courthouse lawn in Cumberland. He argued that its presence on government property violated the First Amendment prohibition on establishment of a state religion.
The county had sought dismissal of the case, citing a 2005 Supreme Court opinion that a similar display in Texas was legal.
Defense attorney Brett Harvey says in a statement that the county is pleased with the outcome.
