wildernesse

Here at the New York Times.

NY Times

--tibac

Stephen Maturin

Wildernesse beat me to the punch. Here's the post I was working on when I saw hers:

Federal District Court Judge Myron Thompson has ruled that the massive Ten Commandments monument placed in the Alabama Judical Building by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore violates the establishment clause and must be removed within thirty days. There's a newspaper article on the ruling here, and you can download the opinion and judgment entry in PDF (all 78 pages!) here.

The ruling is something of a mixed bag legally, but that was to be expected. From the opinion:

atheist_in_foxhole

Wonderful!

wildernesse

Heehee. Short, sweet and to the point--that's how you beat people in the speed posting race!

I'm so very competitive.

It will be interesting to see if Moore complies with the order. I don't think that he will--Montgomery should be fun to watch over the holidays, as will all the tv interviews with people who don't understand that the 10 C's can't be both religiously neutral and the basis of their religious belief.

--tibac

Stephen Maturin

This probably won't be an issue if Moore lets his lawyers do their job. If Judge Thompson doesn't stay his own order pending the outcome of an appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit probably will. It's SOP in cases such as this.

Then again, Chief Justice Moore is something of a lunatic. He might just be crazy enough to order his lawyers not to apply for a stay. That way he can garner some "Moore Defies Federal Court Order" headlines.

wildernesse

I really think that you give Moore too much credit, he can't lose face with his fanatics--therefore, anything that makes him look defiant of the order to remove will be done, IMO.

--tibac

atheist_in_foxhole

Remember, this is the same idiot who said that the bibble was the law in his court.

fromtheright

Personally, I'm not too upset about the whole affair but I also think that Moore is a charlatan and is simply out to be elected Governor. Though I stand on the opposite side of this issue from most of you, if he loses this at the U.S. Supreme Court (I would imagine either side is willing to take this that far) I hope that the plaintiff in this or Alabama's Attorney General (yeah, I know, he's a conservative Republican, chances are slim) sues Moore for the cost of this "monument".

pug846

I’m curious, how would you hold that the Government displaying something that is so fundamental to one religion doesn’t violate the spirit of the establishment clause?

Stephen Maturin

Yep, that's the truth. He's also the same idiot who wrote that abominable concurring opinion in this case

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