Americans United for Separation of Church and State has just filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case of ACLU of Ohio v. DeWeese. They've been joined in the brief by The Interfaith Alliance, the Anti-Defamation League, the Hindu American Foundation and the Union for Reform Judaism. So who is DeWeese and why are all these organizations joining the suit against him?Richland County Common Pleas Judge James DeWeese has a penchant for displaying the 10 Commandments in his courtroom; something that other courts have decided many times before constitutes an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion. It's also not the first time Judge De Weese has been in court over such a display. He was ordered to take down a 10 Commandments poster in 2002 and another one in 2005. 2008 saw him back in court again for the same thing.
Here was his justification for the display in the original 2002 case (source: Ed Brayton. Quotes are from the court record. Bold type added for emphasis):
The Judge believes that the Ten Commandments are "emblematic of moral absolutes." The Judge asserts that, "when we're talking about moral absolutes, when we're talking about morality, it seems to me that what they're emblematic of is the fact that God is the ultimate authority in law as opposed to the view that man is the ultimate authority on law." As he explains, "they are the supreme emblems or moral absolutes. In addition, moral absolutes, [he] believes, come from divine law, the idea that God is the ultimate authority in law."The poster in the current case also references DeWeese’s acknowledgment of “the importance of Almighty God’s fixed moral standards.” He claims, however, that his display is not religious but merely an illustration of a legal or philosophical “theory.”
“Who is Judge DeWeese kidding?” asks the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “It’s obvious that he is using his courtroom to advance his personal religious viewpoint. That’s wrong, and the appeals court should say so.”
The AU brief (here in pdf format) asserts that DeWeese’s “attempt to characterize his religious display as legal or philosophical ‘theory’ is one in a long line of efforts to dress religious doctrine in secular clothing.”
Judge DeWeese is being represented in court by TV evangelist Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice.
Photo Credits:
1) The 10 Commandments
2) Judge James DeWeese (www.10tv.com)
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Comments
Since when is basing the American judicial system on christian mythology deemed reasonable ???
The only "God" that belongs in this story is in the statement, "Oh my God, how did this theofascist end up on a bench anywhere but Hell?"
Although some parts of Ohio might qualify. Definitely Akron.
Good, SUE THAT JUDGE!
Thank you Hugh- great as always sir!
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