Judge battling for Ten Commandments!
COLUMBUS, Ohio - October 15, 2009 - An Ohio judge plans to appeal a second court decision against posting the Ten Commandments in his courtroom.
Common Pleas Judge Jim Deweese was first sued by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2002 because of a Ten Commandments poster in his courtroom. Thus the judge found himself a defendant in court. He was ordered to remove the poster. Now he is back in court for a second offense that raised the ire of the ACLU.
"What I did," says Deweese, "was wrote and posted an essay about the importance to the health of the nation of returning to moral absolutes like the Ten Commandments instead of everyone doing what's right in their own eyes - what we call 'moral relativism.' And the ACLU says that that essay violates a provision of the First Amendment which says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
As Deweese points out, a judge is not Congress - and an essay is not lawmaking. In addition, he notes there is no proof of impropriety on his part.
"No one has contended that I use it in deciding cases," he says. "I use it in my educational activities in the court, when I'm talking to citizens about the things that I observe in my courtroom."
For example, Deweese points out that since 1980, felony cases in his own county have more than tripled, but during the same time the population has remained static. He says he will appeal the federal court order to remove the essay.
Common Pleas Judge Jim Deweese was first sued by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2002 because of a Ten Commandments poster in his courtroom. Thus the judge found himself a defendant in court. He was ordered to remove the poster. Now he is back in court for a second offense that raised the ire of the ACLU.
"What I did," says Deweese, "was wrote and posted an essay about the importance to the health of the nation of returning to moral absolutes like the Ten Commandments instead of everyone doing what's right in their own eyes - what we call 'moral relativism.' And the ACLU says that that essay violates a provision of the First Amendment which says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
As Deweese points out, a judge is not Congress - and an essay is not lawmaking. In addition, he notes there is no proof of impropriety on his part.
"No one has contended that I use it in deciding cases," he says. "I use it in my educational activities in the court, when I'm talking to citizens about the things that I observe in my courtroom."
For example, Deweese points out that since 1980, felony cases in his own county have more than tripled, but during the same time the population has remained static. He says he will appeal the federal court order to remove the essay.
