According to the court's opinion, Moore filed his own brief, in which he stated that, as Chief Justice of Alabama, he would have the final say as to whether the 11th Circuit's order was constitutional or not. Federal judges, including (especially?) conservative ones, do not take kindly to threats that their decisions will be defied, so they added some very pointed language saying that they "expect" Judge Moore to comply with their decision unless it is reversed by the Supreme Court, but that, "If necessary the court order will be enforced." That discussion is accompanied by citations to the court decisions from 1962 and 1963 which forced Governors Wallace and Barnett to obey school desegregation orders.
Court decisions didn't force them to obey, the National Guard did, as I recall.
Question is, would George W. Bush call out the National Guard to force a conservative judge to remove the 10 Commandments??
And how would that look during a re-election bid??
It is remarkable the degree to which the Federal courts are solicitous to invent any and all rights in derogation of state sovereignty, and utterly oblivious to the most fundamental rights of property of the citizens of the United States. The fathers of our country would weep and rage if they saw the perversion of their brilliant design.