Thompson said in a 96-page opinion that he does not believe all Ten Commandment displays in government buildings are illegal, but that the monument in the judicial building crosses the line "between the permissible and the impermissible."

Moore testified during the trial that the commandments are the moral foundation of American law. He said the monument acknowledges God, but does not force anyone to follow his religious beliefs.

Thompson, in his ruling, agreed with Moore's contention that the Ten Commandments are an important source of American law, but he disagreed with the way the chief justice went about recognizing that source.

A lawsuit seeking removal of the monument argued that it promoted the judge's conservative Christian faith in violation of the constitution's ban on government establishment of religion.

Morris Dees, lead counsel and co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, urged Moore to remove the monument immediately.

"This monument was snuck in during the middle of the night and they can sneak it out just as easily. It's a gross violation of the rights of the citizens of Alabama," Dees said.

Moore's attorney, Stephen Melchoir, said Moore will ask a federal appeals court to overturn the ruling. Melchior also says Moore will ask the court to issue a stay against the judge's requirement that the monument be removed within 30 days.

Dees said plaintiffs will oppose any attempt to stay Thompson's order during the appeal.

Thompson, who visited the judicial building before the trial, said in his ruling that he found the monument to be more than just a display of the Ten Commandments and other historical quotations.

"The court is impressed that the monument and its immediate surroundings are, in essence, a consecrated place, a religious sanctuary, within the walls of the courthouse," Thompson wrote.

Thompson said that previous court rulings have allowed displays on government property if they have a secular purpose and do not foster "excessive government entanglement with religion." He said the Ten Commandments monument fails this test.

"His fundamental, if not sole, purpose in displaying the monument was non-secular; and the monument's primary effect advances religion," Thompson said.

Moore, who became known as the "Ten Commandments Judge" when he fought to display a wooden plaque of the commandments on his courtroom wall in Etowah County, won election as chief justice in 2000 and installed the monument the next year.

"The basic issue is whether we will still be able to acknowledge God under the First Amendment, or whether we will not be able to acknowledge God," Moore testified.

Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called the ruling a setback for "Moore's religious crusade."

"It's high time Moore learned that the source of U.S. law is the constitution and not the Bible," Lynn said.

Lynn's organization, along with the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery and the American Civil Liberties Union, represented the three attorneys who objected to the monument.

Neither Moore nor his lead attorney, Stephen Melchior, had any immediate comment on the ruling. An assistant to Melchior said they were reserving comment until they had read the opinion.

One of Moore's supporters, Alabama Christian Coalition President John Giles, said he was shocked that Thompson would order the monument removed. He said he believes there may be a backlash against the ruling in Alabama, a Bible Belt state in which Moore won easily two years ago.

"I am afraid the judge's order putting a 30-day limit on removal of the monument will lead to an uprising of citizens protesting removal of that monument," Giles said.

Another Moore supporter, Dean Young, executive director of the Gadsden-based Christian Family Association, called the ruling a case of "a liberal federal judge standing up and saying we can't acknowledge God in our courtrooms."

"What we're seeing is the systematic removal of God from society," Young said. He questioned whether Thompson has the authority to order Moore to do anything. "No judge in the nation has more authority than Judge Moore because he's the chief justice and was elected by the people of the state of Alabama."

The monument features the King James Bible version of the Ten Commandments sitting on top of a granite block. Around the monument are quotes from historical figures and documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, but critics contend the commandments dominate.

Moore installed the monument after the building closed on the night of July 31, 2001, without telling any other justices. But he did tell Florida television evangelist D. James Kennedy, who had a crew from his Coral Ridge Ministries film the installation and offered videotapes of it for a donation of $19. Moore has appeared numerous times on Kennedy's national syndicated religious television show.

Much of the testimony during the trial concerned the intent of the country's founders, with Moore's attorneys arguing that they were mostly religious men who did not intend to exclude acknowledgement of God from public places.

But Thompson, in his opinion, said the founders were very clear in the First Amendment of the Constitution that there was to be no governmental interference with religion, including endorsement of it.

"In other words, as indeed history has shown, Christianity flourishes best when it is left alone by government," Thompson said.

(Montgomery, Alabama)  An Alabama Supreme Court judge who wrote in a ruling that homosexuality is "an inherent evil" has been ordered to remove a a Ten Commandments monument installed in Alabama's judicial building.

Chief Justice Roy Moore had the 5,300-pound monument installed shortly after being elected to the state's top judicial post. The stone plaques went up in the dead of night without the other justices knowing about it.

Critics said the monument promoted the judge's conservative Christian views in violation of the Constitution.  A citizens group went to court saying the monument violates the separation of church and state.

Monday, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson agreed.  Thompson said he does not believe all Ten Commandment displays in government buildings are illegal, but this one crosses the line.

Moore has 30 days to remove the monument at his own expense.

His lawyer, Stephen Melchior, said the chief justice would appeal the ruling and ask that the monument remain while the court battle is pending.

"The judge uses the term religion 97 times in the opinion and the term religious 50 times, but goes on to talk about how it's dangerous to define the term religion," Melchior said. "I can't imagine the appellate court buying such interesting logic."

Stephen Glassroth, one of the plaintiffs said: "In Alabama, a politician never goes wrong by cloaking himself in God. But religion should be in the synagogue, the temple, or the church and not in the lobby of the state judicial building."

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