ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CASE RECORDS

COLLECTION: OGL #572

DATES: 1970-1980 [Bulk Dates, 1978-1980]

SIZE: .75 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The Ten Commandments Case Records were loaned for duplication purposes and deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Robert Vogel, Grand Forks, North Dakota, in March 1980 (Acc. #80-652).

ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:
Wilma Belcourt Papers, OGL#780
Robert Vogel Papers, OGL#1051

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Chapter 247 of the Laws Passed at the Twentieth Session of Legislative Assembly of the State of North Dakota, directed that placards of the Ten Commandments be posted in the classrooms of state supported schools. The law was ignored until 1979, when a Grand Forks resident, Wilma Belcourt, brought it to the attention of the school officials in Grand Forks, whom subsequently ordered the commandments to be posted.

A lawsuit was then brought by Benjamin Ring, Cynthia Hoekstra, James McKenzie and George Frein, claiming that the 1927 law violated the First and Fourth Amendments of the United States Constitution by sanctioning a specific religion. The plaintiffs were represented by Robert Vogel, a University of North Dakota law professor and former justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court, and Stephen Pevar of the American Civil Liberties Union. The Grand Forks School Board was represented by the North Dakota Office of Attorney General. The case was heard in United States District Court in Grand Forks by Judge Paul Benson.

A judgement in favor of the plaintiffs was handed down by Judge Benson on January, 28 1980. Both the Grand Forks School Board and the Attorney General decided not to appeal the ruling.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Ten Commandments Case Records contain photocopies of correspondence, affidavits, judgements, and other legal materials relating to Benjamin A. Ring, et al, vs. Grand Forks Public School District #1. Also included are legal materials related to similar cases in South Dakota, Roger R. Foley et al. vs. Sioux Falls School District, and Kentucky, Syndell Store et al. vs. James B. Graham.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

  1. General Correspondence: 1970, February 1979 - February 1980
  2. Correspondence: Robert Vogel, March 1979 - February 1980
  3. Correspondence: Stephen Pevar, August 1979 - December 1979
  4. Correspondence: Cletus Schmidt, August 1979
  5. Correspondence: Ralph Hanson, October 1979 - November 1979
  6. Correspondence: Murray Sagsveen, October 1979
  7. Affidavit of James McKenzie, Plaintiff
  8. Affidavit of George Frein, Plaintiff
  9. Affidavit of Benjamin Ring, Plaintiff
  10. Affidavit of Cynthia Hoekstra, Plaintiff
  11. Affidavit of M. F. Peterson (former North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction), and Howard Snortland (current North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction), Defendant.
  12. Preliminary Statement (Complaint): Benjamin A. Ring, et al, vs. Grand Forks Public School District #1, July 1979
  13. Supplementary Trial Brief: Benjamin A. Ring, et al, vs. Grand Forks Public School District #1, undated
  14. Summons: Benjamin A. Ring, et al, vs. Grand Forks Public School District #1, July 1979
  15. Summary of Plaintiffs' Argument (Plaintiffs Brief), Benjamin A. Ring, et al, vs. Grand Forks Public School District #1: October 2, 1979
  16. Motion of the American Jewish Congress, the Synagogue Council of America, and the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council for Leave to File Brief Amid Curiae (Friends of the Court), Benjamin A. Ring, et al, vs. Grand Forks Public School District #1: October 23, 1979
  17. Memorandum In Support of Defendant - Intervenors' Motion, Benjamin A. Ring, et al, vs. Grand Forks Public School District #1: November 5, 1979
  18. Judgment, Benjamin A. Ring, et al, vs. Grand Forks Public School District #1: January 28, 1980
  19. Plaintiffs’ Brief, Reply, Complaints, and Preliminary Injunction, Roger R. Foley et al. vs. Sioux Falls School District: 1978
  20. Motion of the Unitarian Universalist Association to Participate Amici Curiae, Roger R. Foley et al. vs. Sioux Falls School District: May 17, 1979.
  21. Opinion, Judgements, and Correspondence, Syndell Store et al. vs. James B. Graham (Kentucky): 1978
  22. Supplementary Materials from Robert Vogel

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