Barrow considering ending Ten Commandments legal battle

<p>Barrow County commissioners plan to meet Monday to decide whether dwindling funds will force the county out of a legal battle with the American Civil Liberties Union over a Ten Commandments plaque.</p><p>Commissioners had planned to meet Friday afternoon but postponed the meeting until after the weekend, a county clerk said. Officials gave no immediate reason for rescheduling the meeting to 5 p.m. Monday.</p><p>Commission Chairman Pro-Tem Bill Brown said the county has not been able to make its last monthly payment to Herb Titus, the Virginia Beach, Va., lawyer acting as the county's lead attorney in the case.</p><p>Ten Commandments-Georgia Inc., a non-profit group that has raised all the money _ $110,000 _ for the county's legal defense, needs at least $30,000 as soon as possible to continue the fight, the Rev. Jody Hice said.</p><p>At issue is whether county funds would be used.</p><p>Brown said he'd prefer to drop the case rather than using county funds without voter approval.</p><p>"We made a commitment to our taxpayers not to do that," he said.</p><p>Hice said the dwindling donations could be attributed to the February death of commission chairman Eddie Elder, who was a vocal proponent of the display.</p><p>Barrow County was sued last year by the ACLU for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments plaque hung by Brown at the county courthouse. The county claims highlighting the Ten Commandments is constitutional and legal.</p><p>The lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court in Gainesville.</p>