Two Courts, Two different Decisions

Two court cases settled today. One that everyone is talking about. A Federal Judge in Dover, PA ruled that a school system could not mention intelligent design in biology class because it violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

In one of the biggest courtroom clashes between faith and evolution since the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, a federal judge barred a Pennsylvania public school district Tuesday from teaching "intelligent design" in biology class, saying the concept is creationism in disguise.

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones delivered a stinging attack on the Dover Area School Board, saying its first-in-the-nation decision in October 2004 to insert intelligent design into the science curriculum violated the constitutional separation of church and state.
-emphasis mine

The second which nobody is talking about. A Federal Appeals Court ruled that Mercer County, KY could display the Ten Commandments on county property because "The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state."

A U.S. appeals court today upheld the decision of a lower court in allowing the inclusion of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse display, hammering the American Civil Liberties Union and declaring, "The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state."
-emphasis mine

Attorneys from the American Center for Law and Justice successfully argued the case on behalf of Mercer County, Ky., and a display of historical documents placed in the county courthouse. The panel voted 3-0 to reject the ACLU's contention the display violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

The county display the ACLU sued over included the Ten Commandments, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, the Star Spangled Banner, the national motto, the preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, the Bill of Rights to the U. S. Constitution and a picture of Lady Justice.

So which is it? The first court is a lower court so the appeals court takes precedent. If the appeals court is the more compelling, why no coverage?

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