October 27, 2009
Source: The Detroit News
A manger scene on a road median in Warren is the focus of a court battle over religious freedoms.
John Satawa of Warren, who says his family has erected a Nativity scene in the Mound Road median since about 1945, filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the Road Commission of Macomb County for denying him permission to do so this year.
Satawa's lawsuit is backed by the Thomas More Law Center, an Ann Arbor-based law firm that promotes Christian heritage and values.
County highway engineer Robert Hoepfner said in a March 9 letter to Satawa's attorney that the commission denied Satawa's request to place the Nativity scene in the median south of Chicago Road in Warren because the scene "clearly displays a religious message."