(Illegal) Bible? I Don't See an (Illegal) Bible!

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear a controversial case involving a Bible display at the Harris County Courthouse today — and just in time, the stand that used to hold the Bible (and supposedly would again if previous decisions are overturned) has been removed.

Put in place in 1956 in front of the old Civil Courts building, the Bible, which was displayed in a glass case, was vandalized and restored repeatedly before being removed two years ago as per the orders of US Distrinct Judge Sim Lake, who decided it violated the prohibition between mixing church and state.

Friday, however, the case itself — which has stood empty since the Bible was removed — was taken out of its place, which city officials say is part of an unrelated renovation of the building. County attorney Mike Stafford, who will argue before the circuit court today, told the Chronicle he thinks the county wants to move the case somehwere else on county property and replace the Bible within it, and that this course of action would not violate the Constitution.

Randall Kallinen, however, the lawyer for Kay Staley (the real estate agent who sued the county over the Bible in the first place), says he believes the move is merely a last-minute tactic to muddy the constitutional waters.

Stafford's now saying that the court should rule the case moot since circumstances have changed and the case is no longer on Courthouse Square, while Kallinen claims Stafford's just trying to avoid arguing what he knows is a losing case.

Oh, the intrigue. We'll let you know what happens.