Gadsden Circuit Judge Roy S. Moore issued a temporary restraining order November 4 blocking enforcement of U.S. District Judge Ira DeMent's ruling against religious practices in Alabama public schools.

Moore ordered the Etowah County Board of Education and the Alabama State Board of Education not to enforce DeMent's ruling within Moore's Etowah County jurisdiction.

"Some Alabama officials seem to be trying to secede again," said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "All government officials are bound by the U.S. Constitution and the rulings of the federal courts. No one is above the law."

"Judge Moore is showing his true colors as an extremist on the farthest fringes of legal opinion," said Lynn. "This is flat-earth jurisprudence. Even the slowest freshman in law school knows that state courts cannot overturn federal court rulings."

Americans United and the Alabama affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union sponsored the Chandler v. James lawsuit that resulted in Judge DeMent's October 29 ruling. In that order, DeMent barred all school-organized or officially sanctioned religious activities in public schools.

Judge Moore came to national attention earlier this year when he vowed to defy a state court order requiring him to remove a Ten Commandments plaque from his courtroom wall and discontinue clergy-led prayers before court sessions.

He drew strong support from Religious Right groups and Governor Fob James who promised to use state troopers and the National Guard to keep the religious practices in place. (James serves as chairman of the state board of education.)

Americans United (AU) is a Washington, D.C.-based religious liberty watchdog group. Founded in 1947, the organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. AU acts to assure citizens that their tax monies will not be spent in support of religious dogmas.

Among the watchdog organization's earliest victories—celebrated in the 1950s—was its exposure of commercial wine-makers who were also Roman Catholic monks. Before the secret tax-exempt status of Christian Brothers wine became known, the monks' product sold widely in liquor stores, improperly permitted by the IRS to operate as a tax exempt enterprise.