HOUSTON -- A federal appeals court gave a reprieve Tuesday to a monument displaying a Bible outside a Harris County court building in downtown Houston.

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Court Reprieve Answers Bible Display Supporters' Prayers

A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a lower-court judge's ruling that the display, located at 301 Fannin, be removed by the end of Tuesday.

The stay remains in effect until all appeals are exhausted in the case.

"I'm elated. I said, 'Praise God,'" Rev. Aubrey Vaughn told Local 2.

Vaughn and other Bible supporters celebrated after the reprieve was made public.

"They made the right decision. God answered prayer," supporter Anita Sikes said.

Some supporters believe that removing the monument would be an insult to William Mosher's memory, the man to which the monument is dedicated, and to Christians living in Houston.

"Eighty to 90 percent of Houstonians believe in what we are standing for and believe in the Bible, and so a lot of prayers are going out," Rev. Elmo Johnston said.

Should A Bible Display Outside The County Courthouse Be Removed?

The appeals court did not address the merits of the case and has directed Kay Staley, a real estate broker and lawyer who sued the county, to respond to the appeals court by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Harris County Attorney Michael Stafford said.

"Very often these cases go to the United States Supreme Court and as (U.S. District) Judge (Sim) Lake wrote in his opinion, unfortunately we don't have coherent guidance from the Supreme Court," Stafford said. "We will go as far as we need to in order to get clear guidance for the county commissioners."

"The Commissioners and I are heartened and encouraged by the fact that the Fifth Circuit Court has granted a stay in this case," Harris County Judge Robert Eckels said. "There are very important legal issues that can be resolved only by an appellate decision."

Staley could not be reached for comment Tuesday but has argued the Bible display was offensive, 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 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.

Lake had given the county until midnight Tuesday to remove the display from outside the county's civil courthouse in downtown Houston. He denied an emergency request by the county Monday to allow the display to remain until appeals are exhausted.

"The fact that the county has violated the plaintiff's rights for years does not mean that the violation should be allowed to continue," U.S. District Judge Sim Lake wrote. "Moreover, granting a stay would not serve the public interest."

Supporters said if the physical structure is removed, it's meaning would remain.

"They cannot remove it from our hearts. This is a memorial to what is in our hearts and it cannot be taken," Sikes told Local 2.

Judge Robert Eckels said last week that removing the Bible from the monument would change the monument's meaning.

Staley's attorney Randall Kallinen told Local 2 Monday that county attorneys have, "no legal leg to stand on" and that the entire process has been "a waste of Harris County taxpayer money."

"They are gaining publicity by filing excessive, frivolous motions that won't be granted," Kallinen said.

The Bible has been part of the lighted display outside the courthouse since 1995 when the monument that contains it was refurbished. It 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.

The homeless mission maintained the display from 1956 to 1995, replacing the Bible when it was stolen by vandals up until 1988 when atheists asked it be removed, Lake wrote in his Aug. 10 ruling.

The mission "decided either to remove the Bible or not to replace it again, rather than face potentially costly litigation," the judge wrote.

From 1988 to 1995, the top of the monument remained "open and empty, and it was often used as a trash bin," according to the ruling.

Then in 1995, a county judge campaigned to put Christianity back into government and worked to restore the monument and replace the Bible through private donations.

Harris County didn't pay for any of the improvements or the new Bible, but has paid for the electricity that illuminates the monument since 1995 at a cost of $93.15 a year, Lake wrote.

The judge 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.