WHY DOES HE THINK THEY CALL IT AN OATH?:

Justice Thomas Finds Himself in Inauguration Controversy (Tony Mauro, 2/17/05, Legal Times)

In an invitation-only ceremony, [Justice Clarence ] Thomas on Jan. 13 gave the oath of office to newly elected Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker, a close protégé and former aide to one-time Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. Moore was ousted from office in 2003 for defying a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the judicial building rotunda in Montgomery, Ala.

Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, says that by associating himself with someone closely identified with Moore, Thomas was "thumbing his nose" at current church-state doctrine just weeks before the Supreme Court considers two cases on the constitutionality of displays of the Ten Commandments on public property. "If Thomas ever had any chance of becoming chief justice, this action should kill it," says Lynn. [...]

In remarks he gave after his second swearing-in, Parker reported that the day before, Thomas "admonished us to remember that the work of a justice should be evaluated by one thing and one thing only -- whether or not he is faithful to uphold his oath, an oath which, as Justice Thomas pointed out, is not to the people, not to the state, and not to the constitution, but an oath which is to God Himself."

Parker continued, "I stand here today, humbled by this charge, but a grateful man who aspires to adhere to that tradition embodied in the sentiments spoken to me yesterday by Justice Clarence Thomas, and the commitment to our Founders' vision of authority and the rule of law personified by Chief Justice Roy Moore."

Mr. Lynn seems as inept at reading election returns as he's always been at reading the Constitution.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 21, 2005 4:47 PM