MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The Court of the Judiciary of Alabama suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore from the bench for defying a federal court order to remove a 5,280-pound Ten Commandments monument he had installed in the Alabama Supreme Court building.
The New York Times reported Moore will face a trial by the court, which imposed the suspension and will rule whether he should lose his job permanently.
In a television interview prior to his suspension, Moore said he plans to continue his fight for the monument.
"My dispute is with the federal courts who have intruded into state affairs, and we are taking this matter to the United States Supreme Court," he said.
The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has already rejected one of his appeals, and legal analysts say they do not expect it to side with Moore.
Moore's associate justices ordered the monument moved out of public view.
Federal District Court Judge Myron H. Thompson threatened to fine the state $5,000 a day if Moore did not remove the monument by midnight, Aug. 20. He decided to withhold fines or a contempt of court finding if the building manager removes it within a week or so, the newspaper reported.
