MOUNTAIN HOME — An attorney in the federal lawsuit challenging a Nativity scene at a northern Arkansas county courthouse has asked for a summary judgment declaring the display unconstitutional.
The Baxter Bulletin reported that the attorney who represents the plaintiffs, a Baxter County resident and the American Humanist Association, filed the motion Wednesday in federal district court. Baxter County and County Judge Mickey Pendergrass are named as defendants in the suit.
Plaintiffs contend that the county refuses to allow religions other than Christianity or those who aren't religious to have representation on the courthouse lawn.
Pendergrass has said that the display is simply a celebration of a holiday. The display includes a Santa Claus figure, sleigh, reindeer and Christmas tree.
The case is scheduled for trial in October in Fayetteville.