Defiant judge suspended
The Associated Press (via AJC), reports that
Moore suspended on ethics complaint over refusal to move monument. In short, Ala. judge Roy Moore was automatically suspended after an ethics complaint was filed against him.
He’s remained defiant despite the fact the U.S. Supreme Court — the highest court in the land charged with interpreting the U.S. Constitution — turned down his request for an appeal on an federal court order to remove a 5,000-pound monument of the Ten Commandments.
From the article:
Moore said he told the commission that he upheld his oath of office by acknowledging God. Moore has said Thompson has no authority to tell the state’s chief justice to remove the monument.
Funny, I would have thought that his oath would have included something about upholding the laws of the State of Alabama and the United States. The Constitution’s 14th Amendment basically applies the Bill of Rights to the states and that includes the ban on government promotion of religion.
It’s true that our system of justice is built upon Judeo-Christian principles, but that’s the foundation. Just as our nation has grown, so too has our legal system and inclusion of different peoples. The Ten Commandments has a place in the hall of justice alongside the Torah, the twelve tables of Roman law and British common law, but a standalone 2.5-ton monument is overkill. Sheesh, my car weighs less than that.
And another thing — in all these media reports about the controversy, I have never heard a single iota about Moore’s ability to be a judge. It sounds like the Alabama electors choose then-district judge Moore to be chief justice based solely on his blatant endoresment of one certain religion. Is he any good? I’d like to know.