Panel of retired judges to hear suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore’s appeal
Alabama Supreme Court justices have recused themselves from hearing their colleague’s — suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore‘s — appeal, opting for a panel of retired judges to be randomly selected to hear the appeal instead. The justices recused themselves on Monday, by a 5-3 vote, from hearing Moore’s appeal, citing their impartiality might come into question. “Because the justices have personal knowledge of the facts and circumstances underlying this appeal, this appeal presents a situation in which all the justices’ impartiality might be questioned,” the majority wrote. It was then decided the names of 50 judges would be drawn randomly from a pool of retired appellate, circuit, and district judges by Acting Chief Justice Lyn Stuart and Gov. Robert Bentley. The first seven pulled, who are both qualified and willing, will serve as a special Supreme Court to hear Moore’s appeal. Earlier this month, Moore had filed a request seeking the recusal of his colleagues. Liberty Counsel Founder Mat Staver released this statement following Monday’s decision: Chief Justice Moore is merely asking for the same thing any citizen is entitled to receive — equal justice under the law. He wants his case to be heard by an objective and fair panel of judges who will adhere to the rule of law. The people of Alabama have increasingly called upon their judges to be accountable. At every turn, this case presents new twists and turns that have never occurred in the history of Alabama. Never has there been a requirement that replacement judges all be retired. We hope this case moves quickly to a final and just resolution. The Court of the Judiciary violated the law when it suspended Chief Justice Moore for life even though it lacked the 9-0 vote. Never before under the unanimity requirement of COJ Rule 16 has any judge ever been suspended for the rest of the term. A sexting judge gets six months and a judge who writes a four-page order that is not unethical or unlawful gets suspended for life. This is not right. In September, Moore was suspended from the bench for the remainder of his term for encouraging probate judges to defy federal order and refuse marriage licenses to gay couples back in January. The nine-member Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ) unanimously found Moore guilty on six charges relating to violations of the canon of judicial ethics, and issued his suspension from the bench. Moore is in the process of appealing the COJ’s decision.
Roy Moore refuses to clear personal items out of courthouse office
Following his removal from bench, suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ignored a Tuesday evening deadline to clear out his Montgomery courthouse office, and as of Thursday has yet to tackle the task. Moore doesn’t believe acting Alabama Chief Justice Lyn Stuart has the authority to make the request of him. His lawyers have asked the Alabama Supreme Court to overrule Stuart, saying the request is premature given Moore is appealing his suspension. “When you are suspended from office, you are not removed. We are appealing it,” Moore said. In September, Moore was suspended from the bench for the remainder of his term for encouraging probate judges to defy a federal order and refuse marriage licenses to gay couples.
Suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore asked to remove personal items from office
Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has been asked to remove his personal items from the state courthouse and turn in his keys to the building. Acting Chief Justice Lyn Stuart made the request with an Oct. 18 deadline. Last month, Moore was suspended from the bench for the remainder of his term for encouraging probate judges to defy a federal order and refuse marriage licenses to gay couples back in January. The nine-member Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ) unanimously found Moore guilty on six charges relating to violations of the canon of judicial ethics, and issued his suspension from the bench. Moore filed a notice of appeal last week.
Suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore wants new justices for appeal
Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore wants shake things up before his appeal over his suspension from the bench stemming a controversial gay marriage order. Moore filed the motion Monday seeking the recusal of four of his colleagues, current Alabama Supreme Court justices, from hearing his appeal of his ethics convictions. He’s also requested the prohibition of three temporary justices who sat on his unsuccessful challenge to the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) in May, from hearing his appeal. The justices were not named, and the filing accuses the justices of “biased and unconscionable actions” according to a statement released by Moore’s lawyer, Mat Staver, founder and chairman of the legal group Liberty Counsel. According to Staver, the filing is under seal. Moore is also seeking the recusal of Justice Greg Shaw, by name. While Shaw did not preside over Moore’s prior JIC petition, earlier this year he called Moore’s order to probate judges on the issuance of same-sex marriage license “silly” and his public comments “unethical.” Last month, Moore was suspended from the bench for the remainder of his term for encouraging probate judges to defy federal order and refuse marriage licenses to gay couples back in January. The nine-member Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ) unanimously found Moore guilty on six charges relating to violations of the canon of judicial ethics, and issued his suspension from the bench. Moore filed a notice of appeal last week. Justice Lyn Stuart is currently serving as acting Chief Justice.
Lyn Stuart takes helm of Alabama Supreme Court
There’s a new chief justice at the helm of the Alabama Supreme Court. While she may only be the acting Chief Justice, Lyn Stuart has been elevated to the position in the wake of Chief Justice Roy Moore being permanently suspended from the court. Stuart, the senior member of the state’s Supreme Court, has been leading the state’s judiciary since May when the ethics charges against Roy Moore first led to his suspension. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary Sept. 30 suspended Moore for the remainder of his term, which doesn’t end until in 2019. Moore is appealing the ruling. Nevertheless, Stuart has a long resume that has prepared her for this position. A native of Atmore, Alabama, Stuart received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Education from Auburn University with high honors in 1977 and her Juris Doctorate degree from The University of Alabama School of Law in 1980. Upon graduation from law school, Stuart worked as an assistant attorney general for the State of Alabama under former Attorney General Charles Graddick. She also served as executive assistant to the commissioner and special assistant attorney general for the State Department of Corrections. Upon moving to Baldwin County, she became an assistant district attorney for Baldwin County on the staff of District Attorney David Whetstone. In 1988, Stuart was elected district judge, and was re-elected in 1994. Gov. Fob James appointed her to the circuit bench in January 1997 and she was elected, without opposition, to a six-year term in 1998. Now, as the top administrator of the state’s Supreme Court, Stuart will to oversee the day-to-day operations and will also have to address the perpetual struggle to get the necessary funding to operate the system.
Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore files official notice of appeal
Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is beginning the appeal process of last week’s judicial ethics conviction that led to his suspension for the remainder of his term. The five-page document was filed with the Alabama Supreme Court Monday. Moore’s attorney, Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver, indicated several key issues for appeal in the documentation: Whether the Judicial Inquiry Commission proved each of the six charges against his client by clear and convincing evidence. Whether the JIC violated its own rules and Alabama law by breaching confidentiality during its investigation, or by prosecuting without a sworn complaint. Whether the JIC and COJ have jurisdiction to investigate or punish judges for issuing administrative orders. Whether the automatic disqualification provision of the Alabama Constitution violates due process guarantees. Whether the COJ can impose a de facto removal from office without a unanimous vote. The nine-member Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ) unanimously found Moore guilty on six charges relating to violations of the canon of judicial ethics, and issued his suspension from the bench on Friday. Moore was subsequently suspended from the bench for the remainder of his six-year term, which ends in January 2019, without pay. View the full appeal notice below:
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore suspended over gay marriage order
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has been suspended from the bench for the remainder of his term for encouraging probate judges to defy federal order and refuse marriage licenses to gay couples. The nine-member Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ) unanimously found Moore guilty on six charges relating to violations of the canon of judicial ethics, and issued his suspension from the bench on Friday. “For these violations, Chief Justice Moore is hereby suspended from office without pay for the remainder of his term. This suspension is effective immediately,” the order stated. Moore’s term ends in 2019, but due of his age, 69, he cannot run for re-election. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley will not name a replacement as he says Moore was suspended from the bench, rather than removed. According to Yasamie August, press secretary for Bentley, Justice Lyn Stuart will continue in the role of Acting Chief Justice. The court will only function with the eight remaining justices. Moore issued the following statement following his suspension: This decision clearly reflects the corrupt nature of our political and legal system at the highest level. After the Attorney General of Alabama declined to prosecute this case, the JIC employed the former legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) which filed the charges against me, at a cost of up to $75,000.00 to the taxpayers of Alabama. During the trial which lasted approximately four hours, the JIC produced no witnesses, no affidavits, and no evidence to meet their burden of proving by “clear and convincing” evidence that the Administrative order of January 6, 2016 violated the Canons of Judicial Ethics. This was a politically motivated effort by radical homosexual and transgender groups to remove me as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court because of outspoken opposition to their immoral agenda. This opinion violates not only the legal standards of evidence but also the rule of law which states that no judge can be removed from office except by unanimous vote. The canons of judicial ethics Moore was found guilty of violating are: Canon 1: in that he failed to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary. Canon 2: in that he failed to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all his activities. Canon 2A: in that he failed to respect and comply with the law and failed to conduct himself at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. Canon 2B: in that he failed to avoid conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute. Canon 3: in that he failed to perform the duties of his office impartially. Canon 3A(6): in that he failed to abstain from public comment about a pending proceeding in his own court. The suspension is Moore’s second, his first ending in an eventual removal from office in 2003 for violating a federal judge’s order to remove a large Ten Commandments monument from public property. Moore was subsequently re-elected to his position in 2010 in a landslide win.
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore waits for judgment day on keeping job
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore — famously removed from office 13 years ago for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments display — appeared before a judicial disciplinary panel Wednesday to answer accusations that he urged defiance of the federal courts again: This time on gay marriage. The state’s Judicial Inquiry Commission is seeking Moore’s removal from the bench, arguing that in January he directed, or at least encouraged, the state’s probate judges to refuse marriage licenses to gay couples. “We are here 13 years later because the Chief Justice learned nothing from his first removal. He continues to defy the law,” said John Carroll, a lawyer representing the Judicial Inquiry Commission, told the panel. Carroll said Moore urged 68 probate judges to defy both what the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled on gay marriage and a federal judge’s direct order to probate judges to stop enforcing Alabama’s gay marriage ban. Moore, taking the stand in his own defense, dismissed the accusation as “ridiculous.” “It would be against the principles that I hold dear to tell anyone to defy a court order,” Moore, 69, said. The outspoken Republican jurist now waits for his judgment day. The nine-member court has 10 days to rule. The chief judge, Michael Joiner, said the court would return its decision “as soon as possible.” It is not an unfamiliar place for Moore. The same panel removed Moore in 2003 after he refused to obey a federal court order to remove a 5,200-pound Ten Commandment monument from the state judicial building. He was re-elected to the bench in 2012, a victory he described as a vindication. Moore’s supporters gave him a loud ovation when he entered the ornate courtroom where he normally presides as the state’s top judge. In the five-hour hearing Wednesday, Moore was alternately portrayed as a politician on a mission to block gay couples from marrying in Alabama or a judge who was merely trying to answer questions from confused probate judges. Alabama had been in a twisting legal battle over gay marriage that one lawyer dubbed a “game of constitutional chicken.” Gay couples began marrying in some parts of Alabama after a federal judge ruled the state’s same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional in January of 2015. The weddings came to an abrupt halt when the Alabama Supreme Court in March of 2015 ordered probate judges to continue enforcing the ban. The U.S. Supreme Court in June of 2015 ruled gay and lesbian couples had a fundamental right to marry and U.S. District Judge Callie Granade ordered that she was permanently barring Alabama probate judge from enforcing Alabama’s gay marriage ban. The accusations against Moore center around a Jan. 6, 2016, administrative order he sent probate judges saying the order to refuse the licenses remained in “full force and effect.” Moore said he was only correctly noted that the Alabama Supreme Court hadn’t yet ruled on what to do in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision. “I gave them a status in the case, a status of the facts that these orders exist. That is all I did,” Moore said. But another lawyer for the commission, R. Ashby Pate, argued by that point it was “game over” and that Moore was trying to muddy what was a settled issue. “His order sowed confusion. It did not clear it up. He urged defiance, not compliance,” Pate said. Moore stands accused during a season of political upheaval in Alabama. The house speaker was removed from office this summer for criminal ethics violations, and a legislative committee will decide if evidence supports impeaching Gov. Robert Bentley after he was accused of having an affair with a top staffer. The 2016 proceeding took on much of the flavor of Moore’s 2003 removal as Moore stood by his actions and demonstrators filled the courthouse steps. Rainbow flags decorated one side of the courthouse steps while Moore’s supporters blared Christian music and waved “Judge Moore is Right” signs. “The truth is homosexuality is wrong,” said Donna Holman, who traveled 12 hours from Iowa to support Moore. Kim McKeand and Cari Searcy, the lesbian couple whose suit led to a federal judge declaring Alabama’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional, told reporters that Moore seemed to be on a personal mission to block marriage equality in Alabama ever since the ruling in their case. “Something happened that I didn’t expect. There was a tide of love that rolled through Alabama and people were standing up and saying, ‘No. This is my state too,’” Searcy said. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Trial ends for Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore; judges have 10 days for verdict
The chief judge on an Alabama disciplinary panel says they’ll decide “as soon as possible” whether to remove Chief Justice Roy Moore from office. The nine-member Court of the Judiciary has concluded its hearing on allegations that Moore intentionally misused his office to try to block gay couples from marrying in Alabama. Chief Judge Michael Joiner said he did not anticipate a decision would come Wednesday. The charges involve an administrative order Moore sent six months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that gays can marry in every U.S. state. Moore told probate judges that because the Alabama Supreme Court had not rescinded the state’s gay marriage ban, they still remained bound by it. Moore’s lawyer, Mat Staver, told the court that Moore’s order was merely a “status report” that “did not order them to disobey anything.” Moore was removed from office in 2003 for disobeying a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building. Attorney John Carroll, representing the judicial commission seeking Moore’s removal, said “we are here 13 years later because the Chief Justice learned nothing from that first removal. He continues to defy law.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Alabama GOP calls for changes in how the state punishes judges
Alabama’s process for punishing judges needs to be revised, says the Alabama Republican State Executive Committee, spurred by the case against Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. The group overwhelmingly passed a pair of resolutions this week aimed at the rules leading to the suspension of Moore, as well as those governing the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC). Moore is facing charges filed by the JIC over an administrative order he issued in January 2016. The chief judge reminded probate judges that the Alabama Supreme Court barred them from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite rulings by both federal and the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Alabama law maintains a judge being punished can only appeal to the state Supreme Court. The Alabama Republican Party’s executive committee is asking the state Legislature pass a law abolishing the rule that automatically suspends when charges are filed by the JIC. A bill would require final legislative approval of any Alabama Supreme Court decisions that support the removal of a judge from the bench. The resolution also seeks to change the JIC to an elected post. Represented by Liberty Counsel, Moore, under suspension since April, faces trial Sept. 28. “The current situation allows the JIC too much power and the ability to punish judges without due process,” said Mat Staver, founder and chair of Liberty Counsel. “Chief Justice Roy Moore should have never been suspended from his bench from these baseless charges. The JIC has become an arm of the Southern Poverty Law Center and other politically motivated groups. The JIC is not supposed to be politically biased, but it has become so. The JIC needs to be reined in.” Founded in 1989, Liberty Counsel is a nonprofit legal and policy organization which they say is dedicated to providing pro bono assistance and representation related to topics of “advancing religious freedom” and the “sanctity of life.”
Panel sends Alabama chief justice’s ethics case to trial
A state judicial panel on Monday refused to dismiss an ethics complaint against Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, saying that Moore will go to trial in September on accusations that he urged 68 probate judges to defy the federal courts on same-sex marriage. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary, a state panel that disciplines judges, refused dueling requests to either dismiss the complaint against Moore outright or go ahead and remove him from office. Chief Judge Michael Joiner said the case will go to trial Sept. 28. The panel of nine judges will hear the case and decide whether Moore violated judicial ethics and if so, what punishment he will face. The decision came down shortly after the conclusion of a 60-minute hearing in which Moore was alternately portrayed as a politician on a mission to block gay couples from marrying in Alabama or a judge who was merely trying answer questions from confused probate judges. Moore — who was ousted from office by the court in 2003 for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building — could be removed as chief justice for a second time. “We are here to talk about Chief Justice Roy Moore and his repeated refusal to follow the rule of law,” John Carroll, a former federal magistrate representing the Judicial Inquiry Commission, told the court. Carroll said Moore abused his power as chief justice to promote a private agenda against same-sex marriage. The complaint stems from a Jan. 6 memo he sent probate judges. Moore wrote that a March order from the state Supreme Court to refuse marriage licenses to gay couples remained in full force and effect. The order came even though the U.S. Supreme Court had effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide six months prior and a federal judge said Alabama should follow that decision. A lawyer for Moore said the chief justice was only clarifying the status of the state injunction that was issued in March because probate judges were asking questions about it. “The probate judges were flapping in the wind. They were wondering what to do,” his lawyer, Mat Staver, told the court. Moore’s order was merely a legal “truism” that the order had not been lifted by the state court, he argued. Staver, in defending Moore, repeatedly emphasized a section of the January order where Moore told the probate judges that he was not at “liberty to provide any guidance to Alabama probate judges on the effect of (the U.S. Supreme Court ruling) on the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court.” Carroll countered that Moore’s intent was clear: to try to urge probate judges to fight against same-sex marriage. Moore acted on his own by sending the order after unsuccessfully urging his fellow justices to take some action regarding the March order in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision, something pointing out by both sides in the hearing. The Monday hearing took on some of the theater and spectacle that accompanied the 2003 dismissal with passionate protests outside the court. Moore’s supporters and opponents held dueling rallies outside the court building ahead of the hearing, at times standing within a few feet of each other as they chanted and waved competing signs such as “No Moore” or “Judge Moore is right.” Moore entered the packed courtroom to applause from his supporters. After the hearing, he spoke to a sign-waving crowd outside, saying there is “no evidence” he broke judicial ethics and that he never told judges what to do. “They said I tried to influence them. I said it’s their decision,” Moore said. Moore said the complaint was filed against him by people who “don’t want anybody opposing any agenda of the homosexual movement.” The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights legal advocacy group, filed the complaint against Moore that led to the ethics charges, and its director said Moore was clearly urging the judges to defy the courts on gay marriage and was now trying to “save his skin by playing word games.” “Alabama is a great state and deserves better than a chief justice who thinks he is above the law. We’ve said it many times. He acts as if he is the ayatollah of Alabama,” SPLC President Richard Cohen said after the hearing. Ambrosia Starling, the stage name of a small-town Alabama drag queen, was among the speakers against Moore. “We lost the war between the states. That means the Supreme Court holds the final authority over jurisdiction of law,” Starling drawled. Linda Chasom drove three hours from Georgia to attend the rally in support of Moore. She said she thought Moore was being persecuted for his conservative Christian beliefs. “My family is being persecuted. Judge Roy Moore is part of my family as a believer,” Chasom said. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
No hearing for suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore, federal judge dismisses suit
A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore against the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) that filed charges against him in May. U.S. District Court Judge W. Harold Albritton threw the suit out in an order issued Thursday morning. Wednesday, the same judge had cancelled the previously scheduled Aug. 4 hearing on the JIC’s motion to dismiss Moore’s lawsuit. Albritton explained all parties involved had come to an agreement regarding the issues listed in the court filings and that a hearing was not necessary. “The voters in the State of Alabama adopted a far-ranging and comprehensive new Judicial Article to the State’s Constitution, Article VI, a part of which created a method of dealing with allegations of misconduct by any of the judges of the State,” Albritton stated in his opinion. “It created a Judicial Inquiry Commission, with authority to investigate and bring complaints of misconduct against a judge, functioning in a manner similar to a grand jury. A Court of the Judiciary was created to try and determine any such complaints brought and an adverse decision by that court could be appealed to the Supreme Court of Alabama.” The JIC is considering judicial ethics charges that could lead to Moore’s permanent removal from office. In July the JIC argued Moore should be immediately and permanently removed from office. Albritton stated in his opinion that the process should continue without federal court interference, except under limited circumstances. “He (Moore) has chosen not to allow the state courts to determine his federal constitutional challenges, but instead to ask this federal court to act,” Albritton wrote. “This court, out of respect for the state court’s proceedings for determining discipline of the state’s elected judges, in the manner provided by the state’s own constitution, declines to do so.” Moore, a conservative Christian Republican, opposes same-sex marriage on the basis of faith and the law. In January, he issued an administrative order to state probate judges that said state laws against gay marriage remained in place months after the U.S. Supreme Court had effectively legalized gay marriage nationwide. In May, the JIC filed judicial ethics charges against him for that order. Moore then sued the JIC saying it violated his rights by suspending him when it filed the ethics charges. A hearing is set for Aug. 8 on the ethics charges before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. Moore continues to seek a dismissal of those charges.
