Judge Roy Moore Will Face Alabama Court, Answer for Ten Commandments Stance
by Allie Martin and Rusty Pugh
November 11, 2003
(AgapePress) - The man at the center of the debate over the public acknowledgment of God faces a hearing that could determine his future on Alabama's highest court. The suspended chief justice of Alabama's highest court is preparing for a hearing that could result in his removal from office.On Wednesday, the Court of the Judiciary of Alabama will convene in Montgomery to hear charges that Chief Justice Roy Moore should be prosecuted for violating a federal judge's order to remove a granite monument of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the state judicial building.
Moore's defiance of the court order was based on his belief that the Ten Commandments stand for the moral foundation of America's law. The chief justice says to acknowledge that foundation, one must acknowledge its source; and in fact, he contends that the Alabama constitution mandates the acknowledgment of God. "This is the very basic principle upon which this nation was founded," he explains.
Moore says the decay of morals in American society is directly related to the way that society has been distancing itself from the source of its foundational principles.
"We're losing our morality because we're losing our association and relationship with the God upon whom the nation was founded," the chief justice says, "and until we decide to stand up for what was once called -- and what is -- an inalienable right to worship God, we're going to face continued problems down the road as a country."
The Ten Commandments monument was eventually removed from its place in the rotunda and placed in a closet, out of public view, and Moore was suspended. He believes the entire situation is an example of "a runaway judiciary."
According to the chief justice, at a time when so much evil is coming out of the closet in America, "people across the nation are upset by the fact that judges have decided to lock God's law in a closet." He adds, "If anything should come out of a closet, it's God's Word."
Justice for the Judge?
The suspended chief justice faces a wide range of possible penalties. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary could decide to take no action against him, or they could elect to reprimand, fine, or even permanently remove Moore from his position on the state Supreme Court.
According to Associated Press, Alabama's Attorney General Bill Pryor believes Moore should lose his job for defying a federal judge's order to remove his Ten Commandments monument from public view. Pryor, whose office is prosecuting Moore in Wednesday's proceeding, suggests that the actions and attitude of the chief justice showed contempt for the law and for the federal court. He says Moore "intentionally and publicly engaged in misconduct" and "remains unrepentant" for what he did.
But well-known pro-life activist and Christian evangelist Flip Benham says the embattled Alabama judge is not in contempt of court. Rather, the pastor contends, the courts are in contempt of Almighty God.
Benham, director of Operation Save America, says he will be among those Christians standing by in support of Moore when he goes before the Court of the Judiciary in Montgomery on Wednesday. "We're going to be down there standing with a man who is standing for God," he says, "standing in the face of these courts that have become judicial tyrants -- these un-elected officials who think they run this nation."
The pro-family organization's director is urging other Christians to come and join the demonstration of support for Moore in Montgomery. Benham says judicial activism is rampant in the U.S. and, as a result, "utter injustice is taking place in the God-hating courts of this land."
Benham feels Chief Justice Moore has taken an important stand against judicial tyranny, and he says he and his group are praying "that the Church of Jesus Christ would rise up and stand with him."
