FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration, a week before the general election, has asked a federal court to clarify a 2006 ruling on the Ten Commandments in hopes of posting a recently donated collection.

The state is already under court order not to post the Ten Commandments alone. But Fletcher's administration filed papers on Monday asking the U.S. District Court in Frankfort to decide whether a new collection of historical documents, which includes the Ten Commandments, would violate the previous order.

"While we would like to put them up, we want to make sure we're not afoul of the court's previous ruling," said David Fleenor, Fletcher's general counsel.

The filing came just more than a week before Fletcher's general election matchup against Democrat Steve Beshear.

While Kentucky has been at the heart of recent courtroom and political battles over the Ten Commandments, the issue has also played a role in this year's governor's race. Fletcher has mentioned his support for posting the Ten Commandments in stump speeches throughout the state and in a new television commercial for his campaign.

Fletcher and other Republicans have criticized Beshear for an opinion he wrote as attorney general, based off a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, that advised public schools to remove the Ten Commandments from classroom walls.

Beshear said Friday if elected governor he would follow court rulings on the matter.

"I've always said that whatever the courts end up determining is legal in the way of historic displays will be followed by the state when I'm governor," Beshear said.

Fletcher spokeswoman Jodi Whitaker said the filing was not related to the approaching election.

"Campaign or no campaign, Governor Fletcher is governor," Whitaker said. "And this is an issue that is very important to him and obviously to his constituents."

The collection, which includes copies of the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, was donated by "a private citizen" last Friday, according to the court filing.

Since then, the governor's office had received about 300 calls in support of posting the donated "Foundations of American Law and
Government Display," Whitaker said. She refused to identify who donated the collection.

The injunction Fletcher's office filed papers about this week stems from a monument that the Fraternal Order of Eagles gave to the state in 1971. During a construction project in the mid-1980s the monument was removed and put in storage.

The American Civil Liberties Union went to court in 2000 after political leaders tried to put the monument back. The ACLU won, claiming the monument was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

Last year, the General Assembly passed a law that allows the 6-foot-tall granite monument to be displayed at the Capitol with other historical documents. But the federal injunction has prevented that from happening.

In other cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that displays inside the McCreary and Pulaski county courthouses were unconstitutional while the U.S. 6th District Court of Appeals said a Mercer County Courthouse display that incorporated other historical documents was constitutional.

At a campaign stop in Cadiz on Thursday, Fletcher reminded supporters he favors returning prayer and the Ten Commandments to
public schools.

Fletcher has also pledged his support of an Eagle Scout candidate in western Kentucky who has worked toward putting a historical display that includes the Ten Commandments up in a county courthouse, Fletcher spokesman Jason Keller said.

While the Ten Commandments have been an issue in the campaign, Fletcher does not base his policy decisions on politics, Keller said.

"It's an issue because I think there's a clear contrast to be drawn here between Governor Fletcher and his stance on this issue and the past actions of Steve Beshear," Keller said.

Michael James, a Beshear supporter who was wearing a baseball cap that said, 'Jesus is my boss,' said he agreed with the governor's move.

"I don't agree with Fletcher on very many things," said James, who was at a Beshear event in Louisville. "But if he's trying to get those Ten Commandments posted at the Capitol, I want to see them there."

Attorney General Questions Timing Of Governor's Push For Ten Commandments Display

Attorney General Greg Stumbo today questioned Governor Fletcher's belated attempt to clarify a federal court order regarding posting the Ten Commandments on state grounds.

"I offered to clear the way for posting the Ten Commandments a year and a half ago." Stumbo noted. "Obviously, this issue was not important to the Governor until he could play politics with it."

In a letter sent to Governor Fletcher on March 14, 2006, Attorney General Stumbo extended his offer to go to federal court to modify an order forbidding placement of the Ten Commandments "on the Capitol grounds near the floral clock."

In a follow-up letter sent on May 4, 2006 to Governor Fletcher, Stumbo asked the Governor why he failed to respond to his offer, and again urged the Governor to fight for the right to display the Ten Commandments. (Click here to see attached letters:)

The Governor never answered.

"How can anyone think this Governor is sincere in his new found concern about the Ten Commandments?" Stumbo asked. "When he had the chance to make a difference more than 18 months ago, he froze. This matter would have been resolved in the people's favor long ago had the Governor not blocked effective action."

Governor Fletcher's Response

"Frankly, I have no confidence in the Attorney General's ability to competently represent the Commonwealth's interests in this matter. Time and again, he has demonstrated a lack of professional discretion and judgment reasonably necessary to provide the citizens of this state with capable legal representation. According to today's article in the Big Sandy News entitled "AG's Name Surfaces During Drug Probe," Greg Stumbo may have his own legal issues.

"Even worse, prior to being elected Attorney General, Greg Stumbo sat on his hands for 12 full terms as a state representative and did little, if anything, to advance this issue for the people of Kentucky. As Attorney General, Greg Stumbo didn't join in the legal proceeding as he could have. Had Greg Stumbo taken a moment to even read the recent opinion of the Federal Court in ACLU vs. Rowan County, he would have known that now is the perfect time to address this in that same court.

"Known for his political shenanigans, Greg Stumbo is at it again, perhaps to deflect attention from the Big Sandy News story.

"My administration fought for and I signed into law HB 277, which directed the lawful display of a Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds. When the ACLU sued to hold the Commonwealth in contempt of a prior injunction in May 2006, I directed my Justice Cabinet, rather than the Attorney General, to handle the matter. Since that time, our Cabinet's lawyers have represented the Commonwealth with skill and effectiveness.

"As a result, I am pleased that we will soon be in a position to present to the Court a plan to display the Ten Commandments monument in accordance with HB 277 and all applicable legal precedents."