[risk]

How were the Ten Commandments given preference by law?

If a judge says that he thinks his law books are a proper superset of the 10 commandments, or if people think that's what he means, then people can start arguing that's what he's going to do.

That's the nature of our adversarial system of justice. People claimed he was making those inferences, and they asked for the symbol of his inference be removed.

I personally don't mind the display at all. I only mind what he said about it. Did what he say have any legal bearing on any case? Not really, but he couldn't defend himself when citizens of the State of Alabama argued that they felt that he were indicating such.

[Tailgunner Joe]

If a judge says that he thinks his law books are a proper superset of the 10 commandments

Source?

[jla]

Roy Moore's 1st amend. rights didn't end when he donned the black robe.
All judges will have at some point a personal aversion to some aspect of a case, probably many times throughout their career on the bench. The good ones will still follow the law, not their own personal opinion.

[LowOiL]

he couldn't defend himself when citizens of the State of Alabama argued that they felt that he were indicating such.

He was elected by good citizens, he was taken out of office by others.