'10 commandments' judge cleared of ethics charges The Layman Online Thursday, September 9, 1999 GADSDEN, Ala. – Alabama Circuit Court Judge Roy Moore has been cleared of ethics questions involving a legal defense fund for the Ten Commandments displayed in his courtroom, according to the Associated Press. Moore told a courtroom full of supporters that God's righteousness had prevailed after St. Clair County District Attorney Van Davis said he had found no evidence to support an Alabama Ethics Commission complaint alleging the judge may have violated state law, the AP reported. In June, the state ethics commission had voted 5-0 that probable cause existed for charges that Moore illegally profited from a defense fund established by a friend who supported Moore's fight to keep the Ten Commandments display in his courtroom. Moore received more than $100,000 in donations by the defense fund for his fight against the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged his display and his practice of starting court sessions with prayer. The Alabama Supreme Court eventually dismissed the ACLU's case without ruling on the merits. Concerning the ethics allegations, Davis said Moore neither solicited donations himself nor controlled the fund. Among the fund-raising activities was an Internet site that offered various sizes of the Ten Commandments carved in stone, the most expensive, a 20-inch set, available for $149.95, according to a 1997 report in USA Today.

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