Thou Shalt Not Use Religion in Closing Argument
Abstract
The place of religion in the courts was a hot news topic in 2003. For months, Chief Justice Roy Moore fought and ultimately ignored a court order to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Supreme Court rotunda. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal, and, in a unanimous decision, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary removed Moore from the bench for disobeying a lawful court order. If the Ten Commandments do not belong in a courthouse rotunda, do the Ten Commandments, the Bible, or other religious imagery belong in closing arguments? Dozens of state and federal courts have considered the use of religious references and imagery in closing arguments. This column looks at the use of religion in closing arguments, when it constitutes misconduct, and when it leads to reversal.
Keywords
Religion
Publication Date
2004
Document Type
Article
Place of Original Publication
Criminal Justice
Publication Information
18 (4) Criminal Justice 43 (2004)
Repository Citation
Joy, Peter A. and McMunigal, Kevin C., "Thou Shalt Not Use Religion in Closing Argument" (2004). Faculty Publications. 824.
https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/faculty_publications/824
