MORRISTOWN — A national group that defended the Amish in a hallmark U.S. Supreme Court case that preserved religious freedom is offering to help the town's building codes violation saga.

The National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom sent a letter Thursday to the Town Council offering its knowledge of building codes and experience in finding exemptions for the Amish.

"I don't know if New York state is amenable to that or not, but you have to keep trying," said Hermon D. Bontrager, a committee member from Pennsylvania.

The committee defended the Amish in the 1972 case Yoder v. Wisconsin, which found that Amish children could not be required by law to attend school after the eighth grade because it violated their right to religious freedom. The court ruled that the Amish provide sufficient education to prepare children for the group's simplistic agricultural lifestyle, and that high school attendance would be contrary to their way of life.

The committee has since defended the Amish across the country because they will not defend themselves in court.

"We wouldn't go out and sue anyone," said the Rev. William C. Lindholm, committee chairman. "We think it'd be cheaper for them, better for the Amish and better for them."

The town has charged 10 Amish men with building or moving homes without a permit. The town denied permits because the men will not meet requirements such as installing smoke detectors and having designs approved by a state-certified engineer.

The men, who are part of the faith's conservative Swartzentruber sect, do not deny the charges. The requirements go against their religious tenet to avoid modernization, they say.

The town made a public appeal for help because council members believe the state has failed to intervene or offer financial assistance even though building codes are set by the state and enforced on the local level. The town has received no word from the state. Its appeal drew the attention of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit that has accused the town of discriminatory enforcement.

Both the town and the Amish defense attorney said Tuesday that they'll consider the group's offer.

"If we believe there's something they can bring forward and it's not already explored, we'll contact them," said Frank L. Putman, town supervisor.