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American Morning
Interview With Bill Pryor
Aired August 28, 2003 - 08:13 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back to Alabama today. The suspended chief justice, Roy Moore, calls it a "sad day" for our country. But an advocate for the separation of church and state saying it was a tremendous victory for the respect of religious diversity.
Here we are now the day after, back go Montgomery and Brian Cabell -- Brian, good morning there.
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
It's a bit quieter here this morning, as you might expect. Certainly not as crowded as it was yesterday. There is no sense of excitement that we had yesterday. But about two dozen people spent the night here last night in sleeping bags. And over there, the Montgomery Buffet, as it's been called, under the canopy, that's open for business once again. You can get apples, granola bars, crackers, water.
Again, what we've seen this morning, a number of people waking up rather sleepily, some singing, some bible reading. We talked to a man from Indiana who had just arrived here overnight. And over there in the corner there, if you take a peek, you can see a couple of twin girls from Massachusetts, 16 months old. They spent a relatively comfortable night, according to their mother.
People here can draw some encouragement from a "USA"/CNN poll, a "USA Today"/CNN poll overnight, 77 percent saying more or less they approve of what these protesters are doing. They believe that perhaps the Ten Commandments monument should have stayed inside.
And we've talked to some people here today and they are saying they hope this movement doesn't die.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe they're going to keep coming and I pray they will come in greater numbers.
CABELL: Even though the monument has left?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even though it's left.
CABELL: Why do you think they'll come?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because we know who our god is and we know who he serves and we will stand with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABELL: As I say, we have talked to some people who have arrived here today, but we also know of some people who have left. A good gauge of interest here will come at noontime Central Time today. There will be a rally today with an evangelist, James Dobson. Whether we will have several hundred people here or only a few hundred people, that may well determine whether this movement will, in fact, grow, or whether it will die.
There had been speculation that Chief Justice Roy Moore was going to appear today at noon. We've confirmed that he, in fact, will not be able to because of scheduling conflicts.
But, again, that comes later on today. In the meantime, people sit here and wait and try to find some sort of direction, where to go next -- Bill.
HEMMER: A lot of questions still, Brian.
Thanks for that.
Earlier today here on AMERICAN MORNING, Herb Titus is the attorney for Justice Moore. He talked about the future of Moore's cause with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERB TITUS, ATTORNEY FOR JUSTICE ROY MOORE: The court's order that it could be moved within the building as long as it was removed to a non-public place. So the judge had anticipated that such a move would be appropriate, especially since all appeals have not taken place. After all, this monument, if the United States Supreme Court agrees with us, will be moved back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: With us back in Montgomery now, Alabama's attorney general, Bill Pryor, is our guest yet again here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back, sir.
Good to have you back with us today.
BILL PRYOR, ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Good morning.
HEMMER: That monument is still in the building. What happens to it next?
PRYOR: Well, we have a status conference Friday morning with the federal court to report back the movement of the monument and ensure that the state has been brought into compliance with the injunction. I believe that the state has. Chief Justice Moore has filed some papers with the Supreme Court and if the Supreme Court rules in his favor, then we will certainly return the monument to the rotunda.
HEMMER: If it does not rule in that favor, what happens then? Is it removed completely or what are the options?
PRYOR: Well, the federal injunction provides that the monument cannot be placed in a public area of the judicial building. Right now it is in a private storage area. It now belongs to the chief justice. It's his private property. And a lot will depend on what he wants.
HEMMER: Yes, 77 percent of people surveyed in a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll thinks the court was wrong to get that monument out of the judicial building. Was the court wrong, in your estimation?
PRYOR: I have long believed that the Ten Commandments are appropriately displayed in a courthouse, as they are in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Ten Commandments are an important source of law for Western civilization, the cornerstone, really, of our legal heritage. But we in Alabama have an obligation to obey this court order whether we agree with it or not.
HEMMER: Yes, but you know at the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, there are several depictions of the Ten Commandments. Do you believe if this were not a 5,200 pound monument that this would be a story?
PRYOR: Well, you know, there have been a number of lawsuits filed across the United States involving Ten Commandments monuments. Not all of them -- in fact, I'm not aware of any other that involves a more than 5,000 pound monument. But they have still produced lawsuits. And just this summer, a federal court of appeals upheld a depiction of the Ten Commandments in a Pennsylvania courthouse.
So do I think there might have been lawsuits and controversies? It's hard to, I think, contradict that. There have been these kinds of lawsuits all over the United States.
HEMMER: Yes, you sit on the court of the judiciary in your own state.
PRYOR: Yes, well, that's not (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: What happens with Justice Moore? Is he, at this point, going to be removed from his position?
PRYOR: Well, I don't sit on the court of the judiciary. I'm the attorney general. There's a nine member court that will consider the charges that have been brought against Chief Justice Moore and it will be the duty of my office to present those charges to prosecute the case.
HEMMER: Bill Pryor, thanks for your time.
The attorney general, again, in the State of Alabama.
We appreciate you speaking with us today.
PRYOR: Happy to do it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 28, 2003 - 08:13 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back to Alabama today. The suspended chief justice, Roy Moore, calls it a "sad day" for our country. But an advocate for the separation of church and state saying it was a tremendous victory for the respect of religious diversity.
Here we are now the day after, back go Montgomery and Brian Cabell -- Brian, good morning there.
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
It's a bit quieter here this morning, as you might expect. Certainly not as crowded as it was yesterday. There is no sense of excitement that we had yesterday. But about two dozen people spent the night here last night in sleeping bags. And over there, the Montgomery Buffet, as it's been called, under the canopy, that's open for business once again. You can get apples, granola bars, crackers, water.
Again, what we've seen this morning, a number of people waking up rather sleepily, some singing, some bible reading. We talked to a man from Indiana who had just arrived here overnight. And over there in the corner there, if you take a peek, you can see a couple of twin girls from Massachusetts, 16 months old. They spent a relatively comfortable night, according to their mother.
People here can draw some encouragement from a "USA"/CNN poll, a "USA Today"/CNN poll overnight, 77 percent saying more or less they approve of what these protesters are doing. They believe that perhaps the Ten Commandments monument should have stayed inside.
And we've talked to some people here today and they are saying they hope this movement doesn't die.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe they're going to keep coming and I pray they will come in greater numbers.
CABELL: Even though the monument has left?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even though it's left.
CABELL: Why do you think they'll come?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because we know who our god is and we know who he serves and we will stand with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABELL: As I say, we have talked to some people who have arrived here today, but we also know of some people who have left. A good gauge of interest here will come at noontime Central Time today. There will be a rally today with an evangelist, James Dobson. Whether we will have several hundred people here or only a few hundred people, that may well determine whether this movement will, in fact, grow, or whether it will die.
There had been speculation that Chief Justice Roy Moore was going to appear today at noon. We've confirmed that he, in fact, will not be able to because of scheduling conflicts.
But, again, that comes later on today. In the meantime, people sit here and wait and try to find some sort of direction, where to go next -- Bill.
HEMMER: A lot of questions still, Brian.
Thanks for that.
Earlier today here on AMERICAN MORNING, Herb Titus is the attorney for Justice Moore. He talked about the future of Moore's cause with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERB TITUS, ATTORNEY FOR JUSTICE ROY MOORE: The court's order that it could be moved within the building as long as it was removed to a non-public place. So the judge had anticipated that such a move would be appropriate, especially since all appeals have not taken place. After all, this monument, if the United States Supreme Court agrees with us, will be moved back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: With us back in Montgomery now, Alabama's attorney general, Bill Pryor, is our guest yet again here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back, sir.
Good to have you back with us today.
BILL PRYOR, ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Good morning.
HEMMER: That monument is still in the building. What happens to it next?
PRYOR: Well, we have a status conference Friday morning with the federal court to report back the movement of the monument and ensure that the state has been brought into compliance with the injunction. I believe that the state has. Chief Justice Moore has filed some papers with the Supreme Court and if the Supreme Court rules in his favor, then we will certainly return the monument to the rotunda.
HEMMER: If it does not rule in that favor, what happens then? Is it removed completely or what are the options?
PRYOR: Well, the federal injunction provides that the monument cannot be placed in a public area of the judicial building. Right now it is in a private storage area. It now belongs to the chief justice. It's his private property. And a lot will depend on what he wants.
HEMMER: Yes, 77 percent of people surveyed in a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll thinks the court was wrong to get that monument out of the judicial building. Was the court wrong, in your estimation?
PRYOR: I have long believed that the Ten Commandments are appropriately displayed in a courthouse, as they are in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Ten Commandments are an important source of law for Western civilization, the cornerstone, really, of our legal heritage. But we in Alabama have an obligation to obey this court order whether we agree with it or not.
HEMMER: Yes, but you know at the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, there are several depictions of the Ten Commandments. Do you believe if this were not a 5,200 pound monument that this would be a story?
PRYOR: Well, you know, there have been a number of lawsuits filed across the United States involving Ten Commandments monuments. Not all of them -- in fact, I'm not aware of any other that involves a more than 5,000 pound monument. But they have still produced lawsuits. And just this summer, a federal court of appeals upheld a depiction of the Ten Commandments in a Pennsylvania courthouse.
So do I think there might have been lawsuits and controversies? It's hard to, I think, contradict that. There have been these kinds of lawsuits all over the United States.
HEMMER: Yes, you sit on the court of the judiciary in your own state.
PRYOR: Yes, well, that's not (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: What happens with Justice Moore? Is he, at this point, going to be removed from his position?
PRYOR: Well, I don't sit on the court of the judiciary. I'm the attorney general. There's a nine member court that will consider the charges that have been brought against Chief Justice Moore and it will be the duty of my office to present those charges to prosecute the case.
HEMMER: Bill Pryor, thanks for your time.
The attorney general, again, in the State of Alabama.
We appreciate you speaking with us today.
PRYOR: Happy to do it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
