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Alabama judge Roy Moore suspended over anti-gay marriage stance Alabama judge Roy Moore suspended over anti-gay marriage stance
(about 5 hours later)
Alabama’s supreme court chief justice was suspended on Friday as he faces possible removal from the bench for ordering state probate judges not to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite contrary rulings by a federal court and the US supreme court. Alabama politics are at a low point even by the state’s own high – or low – standards: three top elected officials are embroiled in scandal or facing removal from office while a former governor serves time in federal prison on a corruption conviction.
Related: US supreme court won't stop Alabama's first same-sex marriagesRelated: US supreme court won't stop Alabama's first same-sex marriages
The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (AJIC) charged chief justice Roy Moore, an outspoken opponent of same-sex unions, with violating the state’s judicial ethics laws, an allegation that could potentially remove him from office, according to al.com. On Friday, chief justice Roy Moore was suspended from his job. He faces possible ouster over his attempts to block gay marriage following the US supreme court ruling that effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
The legality of gay marriage had been at the center of a national debate for years until the supreme court ruled in June that the constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry. It is familiar territory for the Republican, a Christian conservative who was removed from the same position in 2003 over a Ten Commandments monument, then easily won re-election later.
Despite the ruling and a federal court ruling that made gay marriage legal in Alabama, in January Moore issued an administrative order to state probate judges, ordering them not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to court documents. Other Republicans tried to remove Governor Robert Bentley by impeachment in the just-ended legislative session, over a sexually charged scandal involving a top political aide. An investigation continues. GOP House speaker Mike Hubbard, meanwhile, awaits state trial on 23 felony ethics charges.
“Chief Justice Moore flagrantly disregarded and abused his authority,” the AJIC complaint said. “Moore knowingly ordered [probate judges] to commit violations … knowingly subjecting them to potential prosecution and removal from office.” If convicted, Hubbard could even join the ranks of the imprisoned like former governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat who was convicted on federal influence-peddling charges.
Moore said in a statement the commission had no authority over administrative orders or the court’s ability to prohibit probate judges from issuing same-sex marriage licenses. All in all, it’s some of the worst of times for Republicans who promised to clean up state government after seizing control from Democrats who dominated for generations.
“We intend to fight this agenda vigorously and expect to prevail,” he said. Among the nation’s poorest states, Alabama is troubled by problem areas including physical and mental health; comparatively low high school graduation rates; and too many occupational deaths, according to a report by the United Health Foundation.
Moore wrote in his order that the US supreme court ruling was at odds with a decision in March 2015 by the Alabama supreme court that instructed probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Yet the ranking leaders elected to sort out the mess face confounding troubles of their own.
The conflicting opinions had resulted in “confusion and uncertainty”, Moore said, with many probate judges issuing marriage licenses to gay couples while others refused to do so. In its list of civil charges against Moore, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (AJIC) said the 69-year-old chief justice abused his office by issuing an administrative order to probate judges in January, telling them an Alabama court order and law banning same-sex marriages remained in effect despite the US supreme court decision affirming same-sex marriage six months earlier.
Until the Alabama supreme court decides the matter, probate judges “have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license”, he said. Most counties issued same-sex licenses anyway.
The complaint said Moore’s order “was contrary to clear and determined law about which there is no confusion or unsettled question”. In a statement after his suspension, Moore said the commission did not have the authority to police the order he issued. As during a news conference last week, Moore criticized the AJIC by referring to a recent protest outside his office that included gay and transgender people.
Moore, a Republican, has been a hero of conservative causes before. In 2003, he was removed from office after a federal judge ruled he was placing himself above the law by refusing to take down a Ten Commandments monument. “The JIC has chosen to listen to people like … a professed transvestite and other gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals, as well as organizations which support their agenda,” Moore said. “We intend to fight this agenda vigorously and expect to prevail.”
He won the chief justice job back in 2012, vowing not to do anything to create further friction with the federal courts. The court of the judiciary will decide whether Moore violated judicial ethics, and he could be removed from office if found guilty. The same court removed Moore from office in 2003 for his refusal to follow a federal court order directing him to remove a washing machine-sized Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the state’s judicial building.
On Friday, Southern Poverty Law Center president Richard Cohen told al.com Moore has disgraced his office and should be removed.
“He is such an egomaniac and such a religious zealot that he thinks he can ignore court orders with impunity,” Cohen said. “For the sake of our state, he should be kicked out of office.”