'Ten Commandments' Judge Has No Regrets
by Jenni Parker and Allie Martin
November 14, 2003
(AgapePress) - Thursday the Alabama Court of the Judiciary voted to remove former chief justice Roy Moore from his position on the Alabama Supreme Court for defying a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building. Now several Christian conservatives, including a number of legal experts, are saying the removal of Moore is a dangerous step toward the secularization of American society.Minutes after the unanimous decision, Moore addressed the media outside the court building in Montgomery. He told the press he has "absolutely no regrets" and said his case is an example of an out-of-control judiciary that obeys the rule of men instead of the rule of law.
"I leave it to the rest of the states of this union to stand up for their constitutions and their right to acknowledge God," Moore said, "and unless we do, public acknowledgement of God will be taken from us, 'In God We Trust' will be taken from our money, and 'One Nation Under God' from our pledge."
The former chief justice contends that the right to acknowledge God is a constitutional right that is being eroded by a judicial system that has strayed from its moral foundation. He says he will consult with his attorneys and will be announcing next week what his next course of action will be.
While public reactions to the ruling against the chief justice have been mixed, many prominent figures have voiced support for him, including Alabama's Governor Bob Riley. The governor says that he, like many Alabamians, is disappointed and concerned by the federal courts' continual attempts to erase all public reference to God and faith, but he says all citizens must "respect the workings of our legal system."
In the event Moore chooses to appeal this latest decision, Riley says he trusts that the appeal will be fairly and expeditiously reviewed. Meanwhile, he says he will continue to pray for Moore, "for his family, and for his supporters all across the United States."
Christian Legal Experts Weigh In
Among those supporters are many Christian practitioners of the law who share Moore's concern over what is happening in America's federal courts. The Thomas More Law Center, a national public-interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced its unwavering support for Moore, despite the vote to remove him from office. The firm, which specializes in religious freedom, pro-family, and pro-life cases, had filed briefs on behalf of Moore in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and in his recent appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Center's chief counsel Richard Thompson commented shortly after Moore's ousting that the Alabama judge is "a profile in courage" who should be commended for following his conscience. Thompson also said the "outrageous decision" of the Court of the Judiciary illustrates "how far established authority has come in tearing down the religious foundations of our nation."
Mat Staver | |
And the head of Liberty Counsel, another firm that defends Christians whose religious freedoms have been violated, agrees that the chief justice was removed from office chiefly for his stand for biblical principles.Liberty Counsel's president, Mat Staver, acknowledges that Moore's disobedience of a federal court order is "an issue that you have to grapple with," but he says the bottom line is that the chief justice was voted out because he felt "that he was duty bound ... to acknowledge God as a public official." According to the Staver, "it's a sad day in America when we remove a judge for that stand."
But Staver says the larger issue at stake in Moore's case is whether or not the U.S. will stay with the country's historical roots in the Christian faith or become a secularist nation. He feels the removal of the former chief justice from Alabama's Supreme Court is a move that further threatens Americans' right to acknowledge God in public.
