DEFIANCE - A portrait of Jesus Christ that led to a lawsuit against Defiance County officials has been removed from display at the county courthouse, signaling a possible settlement of the legal dispute.

The picture, about 2-1/2 feet by 3 feet, was taken down from the main first-floor hallway in the courthouse sometime between Thursday night and early yesterday, said Judge Joseph Schmenk of Defiance County Common Pleas Court.

Jeff Weaner, a Defiance College professor, filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Toledo, seeking the portrait's removal on the grounds that it violated the constitutional separation of church and state. The suit named Judge Schmenk and Defiance County commissioners Otto Nicely, Darrell Miller, and Thomas Kime.

The commissioners did not return phone calls for comment.

Judge Schmenk said he was not involved in displaying the portrait, which had hung in the courthouse for at least 16 months, and he was not consulted about its removal.

“It wasn't here this morning when I got here,” the judge said. “I just noticed because it's been a focus of controversy.”

He added: “I was named as a party to the suit, which disturbed me. I wasn't consulted about putting the thing up. It didn't have any impact on the operation of my court.”

Jillian Davis, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation, which supported the lawsuit, said the group considers the case settled.

Ms. Davis said the county's legal counsel, Prosecutor Jeffrey Strausbaugh, spoke Thursday night with Raymond Vasvari, Ohio legal director of the ACLU, and told him the portrait had been removed.

“The commissioners' attorney called ... and said the picture had been taken down, so we've settled the case,” Ms. Davis said. “We appreciate that they realize that it was just going to lead to some protracted litigation, and it's great that they decided to throw in the towel when they did.”

Mr. Strausbaugh did not return phone calls from The Blade.

Ms. Davis said no documents have been filed to end the suit.

“We have their word, and it wouldn't benefit them any to put it back up,” she said.

Mr. Weaner said he's less certain that the case has been resolved.

“This may just be a tactic, and probably an appropriate tactic for them to take, pending the further study of how far they want to pursue the suit,” he said. “I just don't think it's been resolved yet. ... when the ink's dry on the paper, then that's the end of the story.”

Judge Schmenk criticized Mr. Weaner and the ACLU for publicizing the suit with a press conference the day it was filed.

“I just think that's extremely inappropriate, and if you want to try a suit in court, try it in court,” the judge said. “If you want to address your case to public opinion through the media, do that.”

The judge added, “This court is not swayed by what's in the media, and I'm sure the federal court would not be swayed by what's in the media. Therefore, I don't think it adds anything to the process of dispute resolution. It indicates ulterior motives, rather than the effective resolution of disputes.”

Ms. Davis declined to respond to the judge's comments about the publicity surrounding the case, but said he was a defendant in the suit because of his position.

“He was named in the suit because he is the county judge, he's the presiding judge,” she said. “In a sense he has control over what is placed there. So that's why he was named in the suit.”

The lawsuit charged that the portrait's display was a governmental promotion of Christianity that violated the Ohio Constitution and the First and Fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Mr. Weaner said he noticed the portrait in the courthouse last fall and asked the commissioners to take it down.

They refused, he said, and rebuffed efforts by him and Defiance College President Jim Harris to negotiate the picture's display elsewhere.

First Published February 3, 2001, 1:29 p.m.