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Judge Wears Ten Commandments Robe in Courtroom
by Keith Peters, Washington, D.C, correspondent
Did jurist create "a distraction"—or make a statement?
A judge in Alabama caused quite a commotion this week when he showed up in court wearing a judicial robe with the Ten Commandments embroidered on it.
According to The Associated Press, Judge Ashley McKathen showed up in his Covington County, Ala., courtroom wearing the robe. The next day, he refused to delay a trial when attorney Riley Powell objected to it.
Powell said the robe created a distraction that affected his client. Robert Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said Judge McKathen is opening the door to a challenge.
"Obviously this judge is trying to make a statement, but I think, in the long term, he's doing justice a disservice by doing this controversial action," Boston said.
But former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore praised McKathen and said calling the Ten Commandments "a distraction" is ridiculous.
"It's no more a distraction than the plaque of the Ten Commandments at the United States Supreme Court or (saying) 'God save the honorable court' when they open the federal district courts," Moore said.
Gary Bauer, president of American Values, said assuming there are no restrictions on what a judge can wear in his courtroom, there's nothing constitutionally wrong with what McKathen did.
"If anything, it signals that here is a judge that understands the roots of the civilization that he is an arbiter of justice in," Bauer said. "So, as a client in his courtroom, I would be encouraged by such a judge rather than discouraged."
Attorney Powell, meanwhile, said if his client loses in court, he expects the robe issue to be a part of his appeal. |
