U.S. Supreme Court refuses
to hear final appeal of 'Ten Commandments Judge' Roy Moore
Action Ends Long-Running
Case With Victory For Church-State Separation, Says Americans United
A press release from
Americans United for Separation of Church and
State, dated 11-3-03 [posted here 11-3-03]
The U.S. Supreme Court today refused to
revive Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore's legal effort to
display the Ten Commandments in the state Judicial Building in Montgomery.
The high court's refusal to hear the Moore
v. Glassroth case means that the legal controversy is over and that Moore
has lost his final appeal. The two- and-a-half-ton religious monument will
not be returned to public display at the state courthouse.
"This is the end of the legal line for Roy
Moore," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United.
"The outcome does not surprise me. The Supreme Court was never likely to
give its blessing to Moore's misguided crusade."
Continued Lynn, "It is time for Moore to
face facts: he's on the wrong side of the Constitution. Religious symbols
belong in our homes and houses of worship, not our courthouses."
Acting on behalf of local residents,
Americans United, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama and the
Southern Poverty Law Center brought a legal challenge against Moore after
the Alabama jurist arranged to display a Protestant version of the Ten
Commandments in the Judicial Building in July of 2001. A U.S. district court
ruled against Moore, and on appeal he also lost before the 11th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals. Moore then defied the federal courts and announced he
would not remove the monument. He was suspended from his position, and other
Alabama officials had the monument removed from public display.
"The Supreme Court's decision today brings
an end to Moore's grandstanding," Lynn remarked. "He has exploited the Ten
Commandments for personal political gain long enough."
Americans United is a religious liberty
watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization
educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in
safeguarding religious freedom.
