Home | About | In The News | Trial Notebook | On Radio | On Television

Final Brief Filed in Defense of Ohio Judge
I want to bring you an update on a case we've been involved with for quite some time.
As you know, we represent Ohio Common Pleas Court Judge James DeWeese who simply wants to display in his courtroom a poster that includes the Ten Commandments as part of an exhibit on legal philosophy.
We filed our initial brief on behalf of Judge DeWeese with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit back in December. Our initial brief is posted here. And you can read more about the case here.
Today we filed our reply brief in the case - the final brief to be filed before oral arguments take place before the appeals court.
For nearly a decade now, the ACLU has been trying to silence Judge DeWeese's expression of his legal philosophy. That philosophy, which holds that a society’s legal system must rest on moral absolutes as opposed to moral relativism, and that abandonment of moral absolutes leads to societal breakdown and chaos, is the same philosophy that was held by the founders of this nation.
To say, as the ACLU does in this case, that a judge may not espouse such a view because it is ‘religious’ is to adopt an erroneous and timeworn interpretation of the First Amendment that is not based on the words, the history or the Founders’ understanding of the Constitution.
At issue is a poster designed to illustrate Judge DeWeese’s legal philosophy. The poster features two columns of principles or precepts intended to show the contrast between legal philosophies based on moral absolutes and moral relativism. The judge used a version of the Ten Commandments as symbolic of moral absolutes, and a set of statements from sources such as the Humanist Manifesto as symbolic of moral relativism.

In a our initial brief filed in December, we argue that the ACLU lacks legal standing in the case, that the lower court erred in determining that the display violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution and violates articles of the Ohio Constitution, and contends that the Judge’s display is protected by the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

The brief contends that Judge DeWeese’s display is constitutional: “Neither DeWeese’s discussion of the contrast between legal philosophies based on moral absolutes as opposed to moral relativism, nor his use of the Decalogue as a means to illustrate that contrast bespeak a constitutionally problematic religious purpose,” the brief argues. “Moreover, a reasonable observer of the poster would view the poster as a statement about legal philosophy, morality, and ethics, not theology or religion.”
Organizations like Americans United for the Separation of Church and State have filed amicus brief supporting the ACLU’s position in this case. Americans United devotes at least eight pages of their brief in an attempt to cast Judge DeWeese as part of what they appear to believe is a vast right-wing conspiracy – to coin a phrase – that seeks to “dress religious doctrine in secular clothing.”
We reject that flawed argument in our reply brief and address the faulty legal analysis head-on:
“They (Americans United) want this court to infer an unconstitutional purpose on DeWeese’s part from a review of cases about evolution, Bible classes and schools, as well as other cases in which DeWeese has had not the slightest involvement. According to the amici, DeWeese was present (in spirit at least) at the Scopes Trial and his poster is just another ploy to spread the dark cloud of religious fundamentalism. Such nonsense could be easily laughed off were it not for the fact that a similar argument has been made – and appropriately rejected in a case in this circuit.”
“This sort of guilt by association (even where evidence of such association is non-existent) is no substitute for proper analysis of evidence in accordance with established rules . . . It has no place in a proper analysis of the claims and defenses in this case.”
The fact is that judges not only have the right, but are positively encouraged by the Code of Judicial Conduct, to write, speak, lecture, and teach concerning the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice.
Judge DeWeese’s poster falls well within acceptable boundaries of judicial freedom of speech and should remain on display for all to see.

The ACLJ is an organization dedicated to the defense of constitutional liberties secured by law.

American Center for Law and Justice is a d/b/a for Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism, Inc., a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, religious corporation as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, specifically dedicated to the ideal that religious freedom and freedom of speech are inalienable, God-given rights. The Center's purpose is to educate, promulgate, conciliate, and where necessary, litigate, to ensure that those rights are protected under the law. The organization has participated in numerous cases before the Supreme Court, Federal Court of Appeals, Federal District Courts, and various state courts regarding freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Your gift is very much appreciated and fully deductible as a charitable contribution. A copy of our latest financial report may be obtained by writing to us at P.O. Box 450349, Atlanta, GA 31145-0349.