Judge Hangs 10 Commandments Plaque

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) â€”The state's new chief justice, known around the nation as the ``Ten Commandments Judge,'' has decided to hang the plaque of the Old Testament laws in his office rather

Friday, January 26th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) â€”The state's new chief justice, known around the nation as the ``Ten Commandments Judge,'' has decided to hang the plaque of the Old Testament laws in his office rather than the Supreme Court chamber.

The court heard its first case Thursday since Roy Moore became chief justice on Jan. 15, and the plaque was nowhere to be seen.

Moore's clerk said the justice had hung the ornament on a wall in his outer office. Moore and other court officials did not return calls for comment.

He waged a battle in state and federal court to keep the homemade plaque posted in his Gadsden courtroom, where he had served as a circuit judge before winning the race for chief justice in November.

In the campaign, he advertised himself as ``Alabama's Ten Commandments judge'' and promised to bring the plaque with him to the Supreme Court building in Montgomery.

When he took office, Moore said he was not ready to say where he would put it, but added, ``God's law will be publicly acknowledged in our court.''