By John Mack Freeman
Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore has been suspended after ethics charges were filed against him in that state. The charges have to do with Moore’s meddling in the implementation of the Obergefell United States Supreme Court decision which made same-sex marriage legal in Alabama. Via LA Times:
In its list of civil charges against Moore, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission 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 U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming same-sex marriage six months earlier. Most counties issued same-sex licenses anyway.
In a statement after his suspension, Moore said the commission doesn’t have the authority to police the order he issued. As during a news conference last week, Moore criticized the Judicial Inquiry Commission by referring to a recent protest outside his office that included gay and transgender people.
Moore had previously served as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in the early 2000’s before being impeached in 2003 for refusal to comply with a United States Supreme Court ruling to remove a 2-ton monument of the Ten Commandments from the state Supreme Court building. He was re-elected to the job in 2012 by a narrow margin.
