Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Supreme Court rejects Ten Commandments appeal

The_Dude · 08-20-2003, 02:28 PM

WOOT!

earlier discussion can be found here

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...threadid=22398

Quote:

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court refused Wednesday to block the removal of a Ten Commandments monument from an Alabama judicial building, rejecting a last-minute appeal from the judge who installed the display.

The justices said they would not be drawn, at least for now, into a dispute over whether the monument violates the Constitution's ban on government promotion of religion.

The high court was Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's last hope to avoid a federal judge's midnight deadline to remove the display. It was unclear if Moore would comply. Other state officials have said the monument would be moved.

Moore's lawyers told justices in a filing that Moore should be allowed to "establish justice by acknowledging the guidance and favor of Almighty God, placed upon him by his oath of office and the Constitution of Alabama."

Moore installed the 5,300-pound stone monument in the rotunda of the judicial building two years ago after being elected chief justice amid publicity of his support of the Ten Commandments.

The Supreme Court has never ruled on the constitutionality of such indoor and outdoor government displays. In 1980, the court barred Ten Commandments from classroom walls in public schools.

The justices' refusal to intervene was not a surprise. An appeals court had twice refused to give Moore a stay.

"It's not like somebody's about to face execution, if the court doesn't enter a stay the person will be dead and the appeal will be moot," said David Frederick, a Washington attorney who specializes in Supreme Court practice. "If the Supreme Court were to decide it's constitutional, it can always be put back."

Moore had pledged last week to defy the judge's order. His emergency stay request was filed Wednesday with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who oversees cases from Alabama. Kennedy referred it to the full court, which said in a one-sentence order that it was rejected.

Moore has already asked the Supreme Court to consider whether the judge overstepped his bounds in the case, and a second appeal in the Ten Commandments case is expected. Those could take months to resolve.

Groups that challenged the monument filed papers at the Supreme Court arguing that Moore should be required to obey the lower court's mandate. His compliance "will promote the public interest and will uphold the integrity of the federal judiciary in the face of Moore's attack," wrote Ayesha Khan, legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

In Alabama, Moore's supporters held a candlelight vigil early Wednesday.

"Even if they should remove this monument — and God forbid they do — they'll never be able to remove it from our hearts," said the Rev. Greg Dixon of Indianapolis Baptist Temple.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson has said he may fine the state about $5,000 a day if the monument is not removed by the end of the day Wednesday. He has said it would be permissible for the monument to be moved to a less public site, such as Moore's office.

moore couldnt get 4 votes in our conservative supreme court. now that's sad! (i'm sure that rehnquest and c.thomas voted to accept this

).

today is a great day for the seperation of church and state.

---------

now the question is, whether or not he will comply with the orders of the fed appeals court.

more on that

Quote:

Monument coming down 'very soon,' Pryor says

Federal court has ordered removal of Ten Commandments memorial from state building

08/20/03

By GEORGE TALBOT
Business Reporter

SANDESTIN, Fla. -- Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor said Tuesday he will enforce a federal court's order for removal of a Ten Commandments monument from the state Supreme Court building and that, "I expect it to be removed very soon."

While Pryor has said he would put his personal beliefs aside when dealing with the Ten Commandments issue, Tuesday marked his first remarks estimating an abbreviated time frame for removal of the monument that has polarized Alabama in the argument over the separation of church and state.

"My responsibility is to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and I will be doing my duty," Pryor said when asked about the monument after a speech at the Business Council of Alabama's annual governmental affairs conference at a Florida Panhandle resort.

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore installed the 5,280-pound monument in the rotunda of the state judicial building two years ago. On Tuesday, Moore continued his legal fight to keep the monument in place, asking the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider after it declined to stay an order requiring him to remove the monument by midnight tonight .

Pryor, a Mobile native who has seen his appointment for a lifetime seat on the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stymied by congressional Democrats, said it is his personal belief that the Ten Commandments can be displayed constitutionally. Despite that view, however, he will keep the state in compliance with the order to remove the monument, he said.

"I don't want to speculate on how or exactly when it is going to happen," Pryor said Tuesday. "I will be advising the appropriate state officials on how to proceed, and I expect they will do so."

The effort to remove the monument could meet resistance from Moore's supporters, who said Tuesday they planned an around-the-clock prayer vigil and a series of protests on the steps of the court building.

Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said the protests would begin at 12:01 a.m. today and would be "Christ-centered, peaceful and prayerful."

"Every minute that monument stays in the building after (today) is a victory," Mahoney said.

Joining Mahoney at the judicial building Tuesday were several people who said they had come to Montgomery to join Moore's fight.

"I'm tired of a small group of people telling us that we can't display our history on public buildings," said Jenny Brown, who traveled to Montgomery with her daughter from their home in Wichita, Kan.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, for the second time Tuesday, rejected a plea by Moore to stay the removal order until the U.S. Supreme Court can rule on his petition call for it to intervene.

A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based appeals court, denying his second motion of the day, said he had failed to ask for a stay within the legal time frame after it ruled against him July 1.

His request now can be granted only in "extraordinary circumstances," and Moore failed to show such circumstances exist, the appeals judges said. Their ruling said that repealing U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson's order to remove the monument would be "one of last resort, to be held in reserve against grave, unforeseen contingencies."

Thompson ruled earlier this year that the monument violates the constitution's ban on government promotion of religion. He said he may impose fines of about $5,000 per day on the state if the monument is not removed by the deadline.

Thompson has said it would be permissible for the monument to be moved to a less public site, such as Moore's office.

Moore took a defiant stand last week, saying he "cannot and will not" remove the monument. Moore could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the eight associate justices on the Alabama Supreme Court have considered using a state law that allows a majority of the court to overrule an administrative decision by the chief justice. The associ ate justices are not expected to take any action unless fines are imposed on the state after the Wednesday deadline.

Robert Varley, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups suing to remove the monument, said he expects it will be removed. "No one in this country is above the rule of law. We don't have kings and princes," Varley said.

State Rep. Jim Carns, a Republican who is minority leader in the House, wrote the attorney general on Monday, asking a series of questions on why Pryor hasn't fought for Moore under state's rights and other claims. Carns also asked if the associate justices could overrule Moore and order the monument removed.

Pryor, a Republican, like Moore, reiterated his belief that "the Ten Commandments are the cornerstone of our legal heritage," but said he must "obey all orders of the court, even when I disagree with those orders."

what is moore gonna do?? the state supreme court doesnt have any militia or police forces and the attorney general is gonna remove it??

this kinda reminds me of the elian gonzales deal where the INS had to scoop in early morning to get the kid. maybe alabama state officals will do that to prevent conflict with the protestors.