A federal appeals court Tuesday temporarily blocked a judge's order to remove a Bible from a monument outside a Harris County courthouse.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake had given the county until midnight Tuesday to remove the Bible after a woman sued claiming it was offensive to non-Christians. But a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday the Bible can stay for now.
The appeals court did not address the merits of the case and directed Kay Staley, a real estate broker and lawyer who sued the county, to respond to the appeals court by Wednesday, Harris County Attorney Michael Stafford said.
"Very often these cases go to the United States Supreme Court and as Judge Lake wrote in his opinion, unfortunately we don't have coherent guidance from the Supreme Court," he said. "We will go as far as we need to in order to get clear guidance for the county commissioners."
Staley said the county filed its stay request at the "very last minute" forcing the appeals court to have no choice but to temporarily block Lake's order.
"They are trying to cause as much negative excitement as they can," she said of county officials. "They can be pro-Bible, pro-God and anyone that opposes them is against God. I think it is a waste of taxpayer money. They should be out repairing roads."
Stafford said the county is simply doing everything necessary to defend itself.
Staley has argued that in addition to being offensive, the Bible display improperly advanced Christianity and sent "a message to her and to non-Christians that they are not full members of the Houston political community."
She sued the county last August in the wake of a controversy in Alabama surrounding a judge's refusal to remove a monument bearing the Ten Commandments from that state's judicial building.
The county argued the display outside the civil courthouse in downtown Houston was a private expression of free speech by the Star of Hope, a homeless mission, and the county should not be held responsible for its contents.
The Bible has been part of the lighted display since 1995, when the monument was refurbished. The monument originally was erected in 1956 to honor industrialist William Mosher for his contributions to homeless programs. Officials at the Star of Hope said a Bible was placed within the monument to symbolize Mosher's Christian faith.
"This is a monument to Bill Mosher that has the Bible included," County Judge Robert Eckels said. "If you take away the Bible, it is a totally different monument to Mr. Mosher. At what point do we say that you can't have a cross in the Arlington National Cemetery because it is government land? ... At what point does the state sanction religion or encourage religion and at what point does it recognize it as part of our lives and community?"
Staley said there wouldn't be an issue if the 4-foot tall monument with a glass display top didn't include a Bible.
The homeless mission maintained the display from 1956 to 1995. The Bible was stolen by vandals, but a county judge who had campaigned to put Christianity back into government restored the monument and replaced the Bible through private donations.
Harris County didn't pay for the improvements or the new Bible but has paid for the electricity that's illuminated the monument since 1995 at a cost of $93.15 a year, Lake wrote.
Lake had ordered the county remove the Bible and awarded Staley $40,586. On Monday, Lake increased the award to $43,961 to compensate Staley for the amount it cost her to respond to the county's emergency motion.