Surprising no one, the Supreme Court announced this morning that it will not consider Roy Moore’s appeal of a ruling that forced his granite Ten Commandments display from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building.
Moore’s case has been heard by a federal district court and a federal appeals court panel, and every judge who’s heard the case agrees that Moore’s religious monument is inconsistent with the First Amendment.
Moore had asked the high court to consider his appeal and settle the issue of whether U.S. courthouses can legally endorse and promote religion with displays such as his 5,280-pound monstrosity. As expected, the justices expressed no interest in the case.
The appeals process may be over, but the controversy surrounding Moore is not. Next week, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary will hold a hearing to consider whether Moore violated judicial ethics by refusing to comply with a federal court order on removing his religious monument. (You might recall, Moore argued he had “discretionary” power as to whether he wanted to follow federal law or not. For some reason, the federal courts disagreed.)
For what it’s worth, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary’s hearing will not be turned into a circus, despite Moore’s efforts. Last week, Moore’s attorneys asked that the ethics trial be moved from the 210-seat Supreme Court courtroom to a larger venue such as the 7,000-seat Montgomery Civic Center. Moore argued that the courtroom of the Alabama Supreme Court was “small” and “restrictive,” and a larger audience would help ensure his right to a “public trial.”
The Court of the Judiciary denied Moore’s request and said the traditional courtroom would be used in order to minimize costs and maintain proper security.
I can only hope this is the first of many future defeats for Moore at the Court of the Judiciary, which could remove Moore as Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court if Moore is found to have violated judicial ethics.