Atlanta, GA, November 13, 2003 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the decision by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary to remove Roy Moore from his position as Alabama's Chief Justice.  The Court ruled unanimously that Justice Moore should be removed because of his outright defiance of a federal court order directing him to remove a huge granite monument of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the state judicial building.

Reacting to today's action, Deborah Lauter, ADL Southeast Regional Director, issued the following statement:

By displaying the Ten Commandments in the courthouse, Justice Roy Moore initially displayed a fundamental misunderstanding of the First Amendment, which prohibits government endorsement of religion.  He then compounded the offense by openly refusing a court order directing him to remove the monument. 
     
For his outright defiance of the law, he is no hero; rather he is an embarrassment to his state and to our country.  Today's action against Roy Moore constitutes a ringing reaffirmation that the rule of law will prevail, and that anyone who defies the law, including the Chief Justice of a state, will face the consequences.  We commend Alabama Attorney General William Pryor for the successful prosecution of this matter.
     

ADL participated as amicus curiae in successful litigation challenging the constitutionality of Justice Moore's Ten Commandments display.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.