10 Commandments Judge Cleared

By JAY REEVES
07:21 PM ET 09/01/99

GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) - A judge who displays the Ten Commandments in his courtroom was cleared Wednesday of allegations he personally profited from funds raised to support his legal fight over the plaque. A two-month investigation found Circuit Judge Roy Moore had no direct ties to the defense fund and was not in violation of state ethics law, said St. Clair County District Attorney Van Davis. The fund, established by a friend of Moore, has taken in more than $100,000 in donations during Moore's fight against the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU has challenged Moore's right to display the Ten Commandments and start court sessions with prayers.

But Davis said Moore neither solicited donations himself nor controlled the fund. ``Our investigation revealed no evidence that Judge Roy Moore used his office for personal gain,'' Davis said. During a news conference in his courtroom, under the Ten Commandments plaque, Moore quoted Scripture and thanked God for Davis' decision. Moore said the ethics case ``was an effort to stop the message'' that God belongs in public places.

The Alabama Ethics Commission voted 5-0 in June that there was probable cause that Moore had spent money from the fund on more than legal expenses and used the ``mantle of his office'' to solicit funds.

The commission sent the matter to State Attorney General Bill Pryor. Pryor, who has supported Moore's stand on the Ten Commandments, gave the case to Davis to avoid any appearance of bias.

The ACLU claimed Moore's religious activity in court was unconstitutional and violated the separation of church and state. The Alabama Supreme Court eventually dismissed the case without ruling on the merits.

Davis said the fund was legal in part because it was controlled by third parties, namely its founder, Dean Young, or Moore's attorney, Stephen Melchior. Moore once received $400 from the fund as reimbursement for telephone calls, Davis said, but he was due the money.

Melchior said that while the defense fund has taken in more than $100,000 over four years, it is ``in the red big-time,'' partly because of $25,000 in expenses stemming from the ethics case. The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission also has been investigating Moore, apparently questioning whether his Ten Commandments activities have violated any rules of judicial ethics. But the commission operates confidentially and has not commented about the probe.

Top of Page