The
wait is over. Not one, but two lawsuits have been filed in
federal court against Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore who
last summer installed a granite Ten Commandments monument in
the rotunda of the state judicial building. The ACLU,
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU),
and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), brought suit
against Moore in late October, each claiming that the
monument violates the U.S. Constitution.
And worse—it offends. The ACLU and AU claim in their
joint suit that their clients, three attorneys who do
business in the judicial building, are “offended” by the
5,280 pound display which, they say, is an “unlawful
endorsement and advancement of religion.”
The SPLC suit, filed on behalf of another Alabama
attorney, also finds the display “deeply offensive.” So much
so that “each sighting of the monument—however brief—is an
affront” to SPLC’s client, according to the lawsuit. Both
lawsuits seek a court ruling ordering the removal of the
four-foot high cube-shaped monument.
Ready to
Fight
Moore, a West Point graduate and Vietnam veteran, has
left no doubt that he will wage an all-out fight. Just
before he was sworn in last January, he promised to display
the Ten Commandments at the state Supreme Court and said
that if the ACLU sues, “I will fight them with everything
and every ounce of strength I have, because what they’re
coming against is not me, but it’s against truth.”
Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor, charged by state
law with Moore’s defense, has designated long-time Moore
attorney Stephen Melchior, along with constitutional
attorneys Herbert Titus and John Eidsmoe, to serve as deputy
attorneys general for the Moore defense. The Chief Justice,
in a written statement, expressed confidence in his legal
team “which has stood with me in the long battle to defend
the public acknowledgement of God as the source of law and
liberty.”
Melchior said the battle is nothing new for Moore.
“He’s gone through this for the last seven years,” he said.
“This is the culmination of a long history of fighting a |
battle for truth.”
Melchior described Moore’s legal opponents as “three
powerhouses of the liberal movement” seeking to “excise God
from government in this country.”
No State
Funding
No state funds are available for Moore’s legal defense
in what may be a very costly conflict that could wind up
before the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice Moore is
entirely dependent on private donations for his legal
expenses, which are expected, initially, to exceed $50,000 a
month.
See Moore Sued on page four
_____________________________
“I
will fight them with everything and every ounce of strength
I have, because what they’re coming against is not me, but
it’s against truth.”
—Chief Justice Roy Moore
_____________________________
Offensive: The ACLU and others claim in a lawsuit against
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore that the Ten Commandments
monument he installed in the Alabama judicial building is
“deeply offensive,” and violates the U.S. Constitution.
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