Lousiana ACLU: Take Picture of Jesus Out of Slidell Court

SLIDELL, La. – A painting of Christ, with a sign reading "To know peace, obey these laws," has no place in Slidell City Court, the Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union says.

Unless the picture and plaque are removed within a week, the ACLU may sue on behalf of a person who filed a written complaint with the group, the organization said.

The display has been up for years without anyone complaining to the court, Slidell City Court Judge Jim Lamz said in a statement issued through court spokeswoman Ann Barks.

"I'm disappointed the ACLU released their letter to the press either before or simultaneously to us, which indicates they're not interested so much in a resolution, but in confrontation and publicity," he said.

Joe Cook, executive director of the Louisiana ACLU, said the group has received several complaints, one of them written.

"As an admonition hanging in a court of law, it clearly gives the impression that only believers in the law of Jesus Christ will receive justice in that courthouse," said Katie Schwartzmann, the ACLU attorney who wrote the letter.