Ala. Judge Loses Ten Commandments Appeal

Washington Post ^ | July 1, 2003 | Associated Press

[Lurking Libertarian]

ATLANTA - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a Ten Commandments monument the size of a washing machine must be removed from the Alabama Supreme Court building.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a ruling by a federal judge who said that the 2 1/2-ton granite monument, placed there by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

[snip]

Moore put the monument in the rotunda of the courthouse in the middle of the night two summers ago. The monument features tablets bearing the Ten Commandments and historical quotations about the place of God in law.

[click link to read remainder of article]

[Catspaw]

They are placed inside the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court:

1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 : 7 : 8 : 9 : 10

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson looks over the Ten Commandments monument inside the Alabama Judicial Building Oct. 1. Thompson is the judge in the trial that will decide whether the monument can remain in the Montgomery building.
Kevin Glackmeyer, Advertiser

[Sir Gawain]

After he got out of jail for contempt, he would run for Gov. or AG and win in a landslide.

[FreedomCalls]

So what will happen to the 10 Commandments on the door in the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.?

[dogbyte12]

Now to replace it with a statue of two men engaged in anal sodomy.

Whatever Kevin. Full blown hysterics doesn't help much does it? A Buddhist lawyer or a Hindu defendent might feel that by the court's endorsement of the 10 commandments, it is prejudicial against them or their clients.

A juror walks into the building, sees the religious monument, and then sees a defendant of a different faith, and a connection is made subconsciously, that the fellow is guilty, because he worships one of these heathen religions.

Nobody is stopping Alabaman's from worshipping God, the courts just don't like the undue influence this has on potential jurors who might take the person's faith in mind more readily, with the religious reminder of their faith when they enter the court house.

Oh.. but it is much more fun to run around and talk about statues of sodomites. Statues of Krishna is more apropos. Would you feel comfortable in a courthouse, where the population to begin with was mostly Hindu, you were accused of committing a crime against a Hindu, and the judge has placed a shrine to Krishna or Shiva in full view of the jury? Think outside the box. It works.

[Catspaw]

Robes and all? I hope they put it on pay-per-view. Do you think the judges can lift the granite by themselves or will they drive a forklift or something?

Think US Marshals. A whole bunch of them. With trucks and forklifts and whatever else they need.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Is cussing the best way to show your support for the ten commandments and religion in general?

[lugsoul]

"Those ol'boys have probably invested in a gas oven manufacturer anyway on the outside chance that they can make a killing."

That's your beyond-the-pale statement. If you want to call it an attack on Judaism, that's your own uninformed opinion. Perhaps you should actually READ the opinion - take special note of footnote #3 - and tell us how all of those parts of the opinion finding that the exaltation of Christian aspects of the monument above all others are violative of the Establishment Clause constitute an attack on Judaism.

You and your uninformed opinions deserve the respect of no honest man. And your statement that these judges want to participate in holocaust-style killing is low-class stupid drivel.

[Catspaw]

After he got out of jail for contempt, he would run for Gov. or AG and win in a landslide.

Given that he's a relatively young man, I'm sure he's already got the "Moore for Governor" committe formed.

[mrsmith]

"that's exactly what they're going to do if Chief Justice Moore does not comply with the court order. "
Well, they'll let him appeal to the Supreme Court first.

I assume that body with the Ten Commandments on it's walls will...

...refuse to hear it LOL!

[LiteKeeper]

1st Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

How does a copy of the Ten Commandments violate this clause?

Note: "separation of church and state" is not a constitutional principle...the "Wall" is not in the Constitution

[TheCrusader]

"This raises the question. Is the judge, by placing the ten commandments in the courtroom prohibiting the free exercise of other religions?"

Placing the Ten Commandments in a Courtroom can no more prohibit the exercise of other religions than displaying a Chevrolet sign can prohibit the purchase of a Ford. If you like Fords you will not be converted or threatened by a Chevy sign. This a ridiculous ruling. Furthermore, the Ten Commandments are an intricate part of both the Jewish and Christian faiths, and Muslims also raise Moses up to the level of "chosen Prophet" in thier Koran, including the story of his parting of the Red Sea, the 40 days on Mt. Sinai, etc. So exactly which religion is "prohibited" by the display of the Mosaic Law? It won't be long before Christianity will be forced underground into modern 'catacombs', and we'll need another Emperor Constantine to make it legal again to practice in public.

[lugsoul]

Yep, that will ensure the already impending death of the State of Alabama.

[LiteKeeper]

This brief, filed in support of the displaying of the Ten Commandments, is a must read>

Affidavit in Support of the Ten Commandments

[lugsoul]

This is not about the Free Exercise clause. It is about the Establishment Clause. Why not just read the opinion?

[Catspaw]

The court order to remove the Ten Commandments is already in effect. The court of appeals didn't issue a stay pending their decision and didn't issue a stay pending further appeals. Even if Chief Justice Moore was to request a hearing en banque to the 11th Circuit or appeal to the Supreme Court, the order to remove the Ten Commandments is in effect. He would have to request a stay and hope that it was granted. Until then, he's under court order to remove the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Supreme Court building. The judges of the 11th Circuit was not amused by his continuing defiance of the court order (read the last few pages of their order). I would presume that Chief Justice Moore will continue to defy their court order, and is willing to pay the consequences of that continuing defiance.

[Sir Gawain]

So what will happen to the 10 Commandments on the door in the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.?

Did you read the last two or three pages of the ruling? It basically takes the argument that such things as the pledge, daily prayer, national motto, etc. are not subject to the Establishment Clause because "rote repitition" has stripped any religious meaning out of them, and they are simply done to convey the solemnness of the situation. What a load of crap. The Founders would hang these justices for treason.

[Lurking Libertarian]

So what will happen to the 10 Commandments on the door in the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.?

The door of the Supreme Court building depicts great events in legal history-- Moses, Hammurabi, Justinian, the Magna Charta, etc. The Ten Commandments are not singled out as representing one true religion, to the exclusion of others. (The 11th Circuit's decision in fact discusses permissible and impermissible displays of the 10 Commandments.) In fact, the Supreme Court doesn't even show the text of the Commandments, only the outlines of the two tablets.

[Spiff]

Think US Marshals. A whole bunch of them. With trucks and forklifts and whatever else they need.

Think lots of Christians standing in the way. Think Christian U.S. Marshals who refuse to enforce the order.

I can dream can't I? Maybe a couple of news outlets will carry the picture of a couple of Christians trying to stand in the way of this tyranny. These Christians will simply go limp, have the plastic zipties placed on their wrists, and will be carried to a nearby bus for processing and be released later. Meanwhile the Marshals will gleefully remove the granite and by the next day the nation will be more interested in Laci's murder or J. Lo & Ben Affleck's relationship.

We're all a bunch of wimps. America will not go hollering and screaming and fighting under the boot of tyranny, they'll fall under that boot to the sound of clicking TV remote controls during a commercial break.

[rwfromkansas]

I am just calling these tyrannical judges what they are.

[MJY1288]

The ACLU wants to remove God from every aspect of our public life. What bothers me the most is that public school teachers are permitted to teach our children about the importance of contraceptives, abortion, safe sex, homosexuality, lesbianism, and why little Johnny has two father or two mothers, but let that same teacher mention God and he or she is fired on the spot. We need to send letters and monmey to whoever is willing to take this case to the SCOTUS and hope Sandra Day O'Conner has retired by then