MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A federal appeals court ruled July 1 the Ten Commandments monument erected by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore violates the U.S. Constitution and must be removed.

Baptist Press reports the three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a lower court's decision the monument in the state's judicial building violates the constitutional prohibition on government establishment of religion. The panel agreed with federal judge Myron Thompson's opinion the 5,280-pound granite monument had the primary result of promoting religion and had a non-secular purpose.

Writing for the panel, judge Ed Carnes said if they allowed the monument to remain, "the chief justice would be free to adorn the walls of the Alabama Supreme Court's courtroom with sectarian religious murals and have decidedly religious quotations painted above the bench."

Moore is expected to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, the news service reported.

Moore, who was elected chief justice in 2000, had the monument installed in the judicial building's lobby one night during the summer following his election. Other historical quotations are located on the monument, below the Ten Commandments.

An aide to Gov. Bob Riley told the Birmingham News the governor is disappointed in the decision and hopes it will be overturned.

Advocates for a strict separation of church and state hailed the ruling.

"This is a slam dunk for our side," said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "The court dismissed every argument Moore and his attorneys raised, one by one, and made it clear that defiance on his part will not be tolerated. This is a total defeat for Moore."