Nov. 7, 2000 – After campaigning as the “Ten Commandments judge,” Moore wins election as Alabama chief justice. He begins designing a monument that depicts, in his words, “the moral foundation of law.”

July 31, 2001 – Under cover of night, Moore unilaterally has a 5,280-pound, granite monument to the Ten Commandments installed in the rotunda of Alabama’s state judicial building. At a press conference the next day, he declares, “May this day mark the restoration of the moral foundation of law to our people and the return to the knowledge of God in our land.”

Oct. 30, 2001 – The Southern Poverty Law Center sues Moore (Glassroth v. Moore) for violating the constitutional principal of separation of church and state. The case is consolidated with another filed by the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Feb. 15, 2002 – In a concurring opinion in a child custody case, Moore suggests that the state would be justified in executing gay men and lesbians to protect children. His opinion contains numerous citations to the Bible.

Nov. 18, 2002 – U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson rules that the placement of Moore’s monument violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment, writing that it created “a religious sanctuary within the walls of a courthouse.” He orders Moore to remove it within 30 days. The order is stayed pending Moore’s appeal.

December 2002 – Moore founds the Foundation for Moral Law in Montgomery, Alabama. Its website currently says the foundation “exists to restore the knowledge of God in law and government and to acknowledge and defend the truth that man is endowed with rights, not by our fellow man, but by God!”

July 1, 2003 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirms Judge Thompson’s ruling in Glassroth.

Aug. 5, 2003 – Judge Thompson issues final judgment and gives Moore until Aug. 20 to remove the monument.

Aug. 21, 2003 – Because Moore refuses to follow the court order, the eight other justices on the Alabama Supreme Court order the Ten Commandments monument removed from the judicial building.



Roy Moore supporters at a rally, 2002. (SPLC)

Aug. 22, 2003 – Acting on an ethics complaint filed by the SPLC, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission charges Moore with violating the state’s Canons of Judicial Ethics by refusing to follow the federal court order. He is automatically suspended from office pending a trial before the Court of the Judiciary.

Aug. 27, 2003 – The Ten Commandments monument is removed from the rotunda of the judicial building and into a side room.

Nov. 3, 2003 – The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Moore’s appeal.

Nov. 12, 2003 – The ethics case against Moore is tried in the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. Numerous exhibits are presented, but Moore is the only witness.

Nov. 13, 2003 – The Alabama Court of the Judiciary issues an order removing Moore from office, writing that he “not only willfully and publicly defied the orders of a United States district court, but upon direct questioning by the court he also gave no assurances that he would follow that order or any similar order in the future.”