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Monument to be Removed Despite Judge's Immovable Stance

Aired August 22, 2003 - 14:13   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Watching and waiting in Alabama, meanwhile. It may be only a matter of time before a monument of the Ten Commandments is removed. As for the man who's been fighting to keep it where it is, he may also be removed from office.
CNN's David Mattingly on the scene there in Montgomery.

Hello, David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

There will be no contempt charges or fines against the state of Alabama, at least for now. All of the parties in this case were on a conference call this morning with the federal judge who ordered that this monument be removed.

And the plaintiffs in the case, the people who want the monument removed, came away saying that they're satisfied that the state of Alabama is doing everything it can right now to find a way to move that monument outs of public view, outside this judicial building.

This all came about after yesterday's move by the eight Alabama Supreme Court justices, who all ordered that the monument be removed from here, overriding Chief Justice Roy Moore and what he was trying to do. And of course, this helps. This was some relief to state officials here, who were hoping to avoid those $5,000 a day daily fines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JUSTICE ROY MOORE, ALABAMA SUPREME COURT: Whatever it takes is violating your oath of office and violating your conscience to uphold the acknowledgment of God, an inalienable right, and that's not even worth money.

And I think it's sad when we give up that right for money. And I think that's the question in this case.

But, again, my dispute is not with the associate justices. My dispute is with the federal courts who have intruded into state affairs and we are taking this matter to the United States Supreme Court to clarify the First Amendment and our inalienable rights to acknowledge God and we will not be deterred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now, when and where the monument is moved is anyone's guess right now. Supporters of Justice Moore continue to stay out here and maintain their vigil. And it looks like everyone's going to be moving inside in the next couple of minutes because it's starting to rain here.

There are occasionally some prayer meetings here and some other spontaneous demonstrations, all of them with the same message, that they want the monument to stay right where it is -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: David, you can't help but notice the irony of somebody who is all about the law thumbing his nose at it. Has that escaped people there on the steps?

MATTINGLY: What they feel right now is that Justice Moore is fully justified in doing what he's doing. He's comparing himself to Dr. Martin Luther King by going against some of the laws of the land. There's been a lot of talk here about the rule of law.

The eight justices were praised yesterday when they said to remove the monument for their following the rule of law. Justice Moore now wanting to change the rules, so to speak. He's going to the Supreme Court, hoping that the Supreme Court will hear arguments in this and somehow find a way to keep the monument right where it is here in the rotunda -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: David Mattingly in Montgomery, thanks very much.

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 22, 2003 - 14:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Watching and waiting in Alabama, meanwhile. It may be only a matter of time before a monument of the Ten Commandments is removed. As for the man who's been fighting to keep it where it is, he may also be removed from office.
CNN's David Mattingly on the scene there in Montgomery.

Hello, David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

There will be no contempt charges or fines against the state of Alabama, at least for now. All of the parties in this case were on a conference call this morning with the federal judge who ordered that this monument be removed.

And the plaintiffs in the case, the people who want the monument removed, came away saying that they're satisfied that the state of Alabama is doing everything it can right now to find a way to move that monument outs of public view, outside this judicial building.

This all came about after yesterday's move by the eight Alabama Supreme Court justices, who all ordered that the monument be removed from here, overriding Chief Justice Roy Moore and what he was trying to do. And of course, this helps. This was some relief to state officials here, who were hoping to avoid those $5,000 a day daily fines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JUSTICE ROY MOORE, ALABAMA SUPREME COURT: Whatever it takes is violating your oath of office and violating your conscience to uphold the acknowledgment of God, an inalienable right, and that's not even worth money.

And I think it's sad when we give up that right for money. And I think that's the question in this case.

But, again, my dispute is not with the associate justices. My dispute is with the federal courts who have intruded into state affairs and we are taking this matter to the United States Supreme Court to clarify the First Amendment and our inalienable rights to acknowledge God and we will not be deterred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now, when and where the monument is moved is anyone's guess right now. Supporters of Justice Moore continue to stay out here and maintain their vigil. And it looks like everyone's going to be moving inside in the next couple of minutes because it's starting to rain here.

There are occasionally some prayer meetings here and some other spontaneous demonstrations, all of them with the same message, that they want the monument to stay right where it is -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: David, you can't help but notice the irony of somebody who is all about the law thumbing his nose at it. Has that escaped people there on the steps?

MATTINGLY: What they feel right now is that Justice Moore is fully justified in doing what he's doing. He's comparing himself to Dr. Martin Luther King by going against some of the laws of the land. There's been a lot of talk here about the rule of law.

The eight justices were praised yesterday when they said to remove the monument for their following the rule of law. Justice Moore now wanting to change the rules, so to speak. He's going to the Supreme Court, hoping that the Supreme Court will hear arguments in this and somehow find a way to keep the monument right where it is here in the rotunda -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: David Mattingly in Montgomery, thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com