Traveling circus: Alabama's Roy Moore urges supreme court to take ten commandments case, as boosters take decalogue show on the road.

Some people just don't know when to give up.

Although they've been rebuffed by two federal courts, attorneys for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, the by-now notorious "Ten Commandments judge," tried again in September, filing one last appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a legal brief asking the justices to hear Moore's case, the attorneys rehash old arguments that failed in the lower courts. The 32-page document is like a bad television rerun--stale, unimaginative and utterly devoid of new ideas.

In the Sept. 29 brief, Moore's attorneys, led by Herbert W. Titus, a former dean at TV preacher Pat Robertson's law school, attack the Supreme Court for its decisions upholding church-state separation and insist that Moore had the authority to display a two-and-a-half-ton Ten Commandments monument in the rotunda of the Judicial Building in Montgomery.

These arguments failed before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which in July ruled in the Glassroth v. Moore case that "Roy's rock" must go. Remarkably, the four Moore attorneys then go on to resurrect another one of their extreme arguments, telling the highest court in the land that federal courts have no jurisdiction in this case. Moore, the brief asserts, was compelled by his oath of office to display the Ten Commandments. Forcing him to remove the display, the brief insists, is a form of tyranny.

"Such a claim of judicial supremacy over the Chief Justice's oath does not serve 'the rule of law,' as the Court of Appeals claimed, but the rules of judges," reads the brief. "As such, it is a species of judicial idolatry, suitable, perhaps, for the British monarchy, but not for the American constitutional republic."

Titus and the other Moore attorneys--Phillip L. Jauregui, Benjamin D. DuPre and D. Stephen Melchior--were apparently influenced by some unconventional sources as they drafted their legal opus. Their "Table of Cited Authorities" includes an article by David Limbaugh, brother of the famous conservative talk-radio host, that originally ran on the right-wing website newsmax.com. (Limbaugh, a Missouri attorney, is author of a new book that attacks church-state separation.)

Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn was underwhelmed by the brief.

"This document discredited legal arguments that failed before and will fail again," Lynn said. "It insults the federal courts and belittles the rule of law. I don't expect the Supreme Court to find it at all persuasive."

In Montgomery, Richard Cohen, general counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that joined AU in the litigation against Moore, called the brief "an incredible document."

"Justice Moore not only attacks the Supreme Court, he claims, yet again, that he is free to ignore federal court orders that he disagrees with," Cohen told The Birmingham News. "It's an invitation to anarchy."

In an editorial, The News expressed dismay with the latest Moore legal overture.

"The real question is: If the highest judicial officer in Alabama doesn't obey court rulings, why should anyone else?" asserted the paper. "Moore's disrespect for the court is matched only by his disregard for others who don't share his religious views."

The Supreme Court is not obligated to hear Moore's appeal. In fact, the high court turns down most cases it is asked to hear, accepting only about 2 percent for review each year.

It could take the high court another month or more to decide whether to hear the Moore dispute. In the meantime, Moore and his supporters are active on several other fronts.

Although Moore's long-running quest to win legal sanction for his religious display has flopped in the courts so far, the renegade jurist and his Religious Right allies are hard at work trying to parlay their legal loss into a public relations victory. (See "Monumental Move" and "Rallying 'Round the Rock," October 2003 Church & State.)

Moore, who was suspended from the Alabama high court when he defied a federal court order to remove the monument, has spent much of his free time on these extra-legal efforts.

In mid-September, Moore traveled to the nation's capital to meet with congressional supporters and plot legislative strategy. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that Moore met with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and other Republicans to discuss a possible congressional response to his plight.

The newspaper reported that during the meeting, Moore, DeLay, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) plotted the best ways to promote a resolution put forth by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) that would require display of the Ten Commandments in the House and Senate chambers.

Perhaps interested in provoking another showdown, Moore proposed shortly after the meeting that his monument be transported to Washington and set up in the Capitol Building. (The monument is currently locked in a storage room in the Judicial Building in Montgomery.)

Several lawmakers have endorsed the idea.

"This is a gracious offer, and I would hope that my colleagues in Congress will join me in welcoming the monument to the Capitol," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) in a statement.

(Shelby's praise of the Ten Commandments may be in part politically motivated. The Huntsville Times reported Oct. 1 that Moore might challenge Shelby in the Republican primary next June. Moore has denied that he has his eye on a U.S. Senate seat, but that hasn't damped the speculation.)

Not long after the D.C. meeting, Moore traveled to Des Moines, where he addressed a local gathering of the Christian Coalition.

"It's not about the Ten Commandments," Moore told the crowd. "It's not about me. It's not about religion. It's not about politics. It's about whether or not we can acknowledge God."

Other Religious Right groups that back Moore have been traveling the country, seeking to stir up grassroots support for Moore's crusade. A "Keep the Commandments Caravan" traveled through five southeastern states, culminating with rallies outside the Supreme Court in Washington Oct. 5-6.

The event was organized by the Rev. Rob Schenck, a D.C.--based anti-abortion activist who spearheaded many of the pro-Moore rallies in Montgomery in August. With the media less interested in Moore these days, Schenck and his allies seem desperate to drum up new stunts, like the caravan, to keep the Alabama judge in the spotlight.

But there are signs that Moore's luster is starting to fade. In Columbia, S.C., only about 100 people showed up for a pro-Moore rally. The state's Republican governor, Mark Sanford, declined to attend, citing other commitments. A stop in Raleigh, N.C., the next day drew fewer than 200 attendees.

Turnout was a little higher at an earlier event in Georgia, which drew support from Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) and other state officials.

"Ours is a nation founded on freedom of religion, not freedom from religion," Perdue told a crowd described as "several hundred" in press accounts. "The vast majority of Americans believe these commandments deserve a place in our halls of justice. It is a just cause."

Adding a touch of bipartisanship, several Georgia Democrats issued statements supporting Moore's position, among them Georgia Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and U.S. Sen. Zell Miller.

But the caravan's final rally in Washington, D.C., was another dud. Fewer than 200 turned up to back Moore at the nation's capitol on Sunday. (They were met by counter-protestors numbering about 100.) Some attendees also ran into trouble with the law: Several caravan participants converged on St. Matthew's Cathedral the morning of Oct. 5, site of the annual "Red Mass" sponsored by the Catholic hierarchy for government officials and members of the legal profession. The protestors apparently wanted to be visible to members of the Supreme Court attending the event, but due to heightened security concerns, they were removed by U.S. marshals because they did not have a permit to demonstrate in the area. (Turnout for a pro-Moore rally on Monday was higher, about 500.)

Another Moore supporter, the Rev. Rick Scarborough of Pearland; Texas, has been organizing separate rallies in other parts of the country. At a rally in Lufkin, Texas, Scarborough claimed divine sanction for his actions, telling the local newspaper, "Suddenly God has given us a national agenda."

Scarborough has been traveling with Alan Keyes, a Maryland Religious Right activist, failed presidential candidate and ex-cable news talk show host. Keyes told the crowd in Lufkin, estimated to be about 2,000, that Moore's crusade could reverberate across the nation.

"Will you stand in this cause?" Keyes asked. "Will you pray in this cause? Will you work in this cause until the sound of our hearts is heard from here to Washington, D.C., that we must have back our rights to honor God?"

Moore's Religious Right backers also hope the issue will translate into a payoff at the polls next November. On Oct. 1, the Christian Coalition held a press conference in Washington to announce its support for several bills pending in Congress, among them legislation introduced by Aderholt that would bar federal courts from heating challenges to government-sponsored Ten Commandments displays. The group sees the issue as a potential vote-getter for conservative candidates.

Only a handful of states have elections this year, but already there are signs of candidates trying to use the issue to their advantage. In Louisiana, gubernatorial hopeful Bobby Jindal, a former Hindu who converted to Roman Catholicism, highlighted his support for the Ten Commandments in radio ads to court social conservatives. In early October, Jindal was the top vote-getter in a crowded field of candidates and advanced to a runoff election Nov. 15 against Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

In 2004, the entire U.S. House of Representatives, 35 U.S. Senate seats, 11 gubernatorial slots as well as the presidency will be up for grabs. Can the Religious Right keep the Ten Commandments issue alive and make it relevant for voters next year? AU's Lynn is skeptical. Lynn said he expects the fuss over Moore's crusade to die down sooner or later.

"Moore's Religious Right friends have milked this for all of the publicity they can get," Lynn remarked. "I expect the Supreme Court to soon turn down Moore's case, and once that's done this lawsuit will be officially over. Eventually, Schenck, Keyes, Scarborough and their allies will move on to something else."

Before that happens, Moore has another battle to face. His defiance of the federal courts resulted in his suspension from the bench, with formal charges filed against him. His trial before the state Court of the Judiciary begins on Nov. 12. The state has presented its case, and Moore's attorneys are preparing his defense.

In legal documents, Moore's attorneys assert that Alabama officials have no right to try him until the Supreme Court disposes of his case. That trial and its outcome will guarantee that Moore's name remains in the papers a little while longer--at least in Alabama.

Meanwhile, controversies over government displays of the Ten Commandments cases continue to pop up around the nation. Recent developments include:

* A Ten Commandments monument has been removed from a courthouse lawn in Miles City, Mont. City officials agreed to move the monument to a privately owned museum to settle a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Fraternal Order of Eagles donated the monument to the county in 1968.

* Municipal officials in Pleasant Grove, Utah, have refused a request from a New Age religious group that wants to place its "Seven Aphorisms" alongside a city-sponsored Ten Commandments display.

Members of the religious group Summum say they want to erect a same-size monument and display it next to the Ten Commandments in a city-owned park. The monument was donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles and has been in the park since 1971.

Last year, officials in Ogden agreed to move a Ten Commandments monument to private property after a federal appeals court ruled that Summum must be given equal space. Despite this precedent, Pleasant Grove Mayor Jim Danklef wants to fight and in September denied the group's request.

Meanwhile, an organization called the Society of Separationists, an arm of American Atheists, has sued over the city's display of the Ten Commandments.

* A "heritage rock" in Polk County, Fla., will not face a legal challenge. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida announced last month that it will not file a lawsuit against a 7-foot-tall, 6,000-pound monument that contains the Ten Commandments alongside other, historic and legal documents.

Officials with the ACLU said it appears that the overall thrust of the monument, which has been erected in front of the Polk County Administration Building, is secular. The monument was paid for with privately raised funds under an effort spearheaded by the Rev. Mickey Carter, a Baptist minister who lives in the area.

Carter and his supporters had originally envisioned a monument with more religious iconography, but they agreed to add other items to avoid litigation. Aside from the Ten Commandments, the monument includes excerpts from the Code of Hammurabi, the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, the Florida Constitution and other legal documents.

"The folks that designed it definitely didn't want a lawsuit," Polk County Commission Chairman Randy Wilkinson told the Orlando Sentinel. "It wasn't designed to be an in-your-face kind of thing. If I had done it myself, it probably would have been more in-your-face."