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Midnight Deadline Looms For Removal of Alabama Commandments Monument
Aired August 20, 2003 - 15:33 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Alabama's chief justice may have put his trust in God, but he's pinning his hopes on the U.S. Supreme Court. He wants the high court to block an order forcing him to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from his courthouse.
Fredricka Whitfield in Montgomery where a showdown is looming over today's deadline. Fredricka, thou shalt report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This 2.5 ton granite statue is getting a lot of support today at this state judicial building. It's why at least two dozen people from as far away as California, Kansas and throughout Alabama are here. They say they're praying for this statue ordered by a federal court to be removed; they're praying for the man responsible for putting it here, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. And they say they're praying for the protection of their own religious rights.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't believe it's just the Ten Commandments being in an Alabama courtroom. I believe it's God being taken out of our nation and I believe this is one of the final acts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you stand for this country, this whole country was founded on "In God we trust." I think that if he was to put it in those terms, then, yes, I think everyone should defy it.
WHITFIELD: A federal district court says this statue, poised at the center of the rotunda of this building, must be removed by midnight. Judge Moore says he's not going to do that. He says, in fact, he's already filed the case with the U.S. Supreme Court after losing an appeal in a lower court.
In fact, this morning on CNN, he reiterated his case.
CHIEF JUSTICE ROY MOORE, ALABAMA SUPREME COURT: The question is can the federal courts come into the state of Alabama and threaten fines to release our inalienable rights? Are we willing to give up the fact that God gave us our rights of life, libery and pursuit of happiness?
You see, you've got to remember, Soledad, it's not about a monument. It's about the fundamental acknowledgment of God, which this nation is founded. WHITFIELD: If Judge Moore does not remove the statue by midnight, he could face a fine of up to $5,000 a day, which could double each following week.
Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Montgomery, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: And you can hear more from Justice Roy Moore, who might tell us his next move just a couple hours before that deadline and before potentially, depending on court rulings, some fines might be imposed. He will be the guest on CNN's "NEWSNIGHT." That's at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Commandments Monument>
Aired August 20, 2003 - 15:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Alabama's chief justice may have put his trust in God, but he's pinning his hopes on the U.S. Supreme Court. He wants the high court to block an order forcing him to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from his courthouse.
Fredricka Whitfield in Montgomery where a showdown is looming over today's deadline. Fredricka, thou shalt report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This 2.5 ton granite statue is getting a lot of support today at this state judicial building. It's why at least two dozen people from as far away as California, Kansas and throughout Alabama are here. They say they're praying for this statue ordered by a federal court to be removed; they're praying for the man responsible for putting it here, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. And they say they're praying for the protection of their own religious rights.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't believe it's just the Ten Commandments being in an Alabama courtroom. I believe it's God being taken out of our nation and I believe this is one of the final acts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you stand for this country, this whole country was founded on "In God we trust." I think that if he was to put it in those terms, then, yes, I think everyone should defy it.
WHITFIELD: A federal district court says this statue, poised at the center of the rotunda of this building, must be removed by midnight. Judge Moore says he's not going to do that. He says, in fact, he's already filed the case with the U.S. Supreme Court after losing an appeal in a lower court.
In fact, this morning on CNN, he reiterated his case.
CHIEF JUSTICE ROY MOORE, ALABAMA SUPREME COURT: The question is can the federal courts come into the state of Alabama and threaten fines to release our inalienable rights? Are we willing to give up the fact that God gave us our rights of life, libery and pursuit of happiness?
You see, you've got to remember, Soledad, it's not about a monument. It's about the fundamental acknowledgment of God, which this nation is founded. WHITFIELD: If Judge Moore does not remove the statue by midnight, he could face a fine of up to $5,000 a day, which could double each following week.
Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Montgomery, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: And you can hear more from Justice Roy Moore, who might tell us his next move just a couple hours before that deadline and before potentially, depending on court rulings, some fines might be imposed. He will be the guest on CNN's "NEWSNIGHT." That's at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Commandments Monument>
