Usually, judges are the ones handing out verdicts, not waiting on them.
But for the second time in his career, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is waiting to find out if he will be removed from office by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. The decision is expected within the next 10 days.
Moore testified Wednesday in the Alabama Supreme Court in response to charges filed against him by the Judicial Inquiry Commission following a series of complaints made by the liberal Southern Poverty Law Center. They alleged he abused his authority and urged subordinate probate judges to ignore the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that required all states to recognize same-sex “marriage.”
He was represented by Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Stever, as well as Liberty Counsel attorney Horatio Mihet, and Phillip Jauregui of the Judicial Action Group. Liberty Counsel put out a press release shortly after leaving the Alabama Judicial Building Wednesday afternoon:
The Chief Justice’s testimony was uncontroverted and very clear. The JIC had a short, and frankly weak, cross-examination. The JIC presented no live testimony. The JIC presented closing arguments for about 45 minutes.
Mat Staver presented closing arguments on behalf of Chief Justice Moore for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Then the JIC presented a short rebuttal argument. After hearing arguments from both sides, the Court of Judiciary adjourned stating the court will make a decision within 10 days.
“We felt our evidence was legally and factually unassailable and clearly showed that the JIC’s charges are baseless,” said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “The Chief Justice did an excellent job of testifying in the very court where he should be presiding,” said Staver. “The JIC has too much power to file charges that have the effect of automatically removing a judge. This system turns ‘innocent until proven guilty’ on its head. After the JIC made a bogus statement of the law, we had to rebut the JIC with a unanimous 2013 U.S. Supreme Court case directly opposite of what the JIC argued. And yet, no matter how wrong the JIC may be in any given charge against a judge, that judge is automatically removed. This system must be changed,” concluded Staver.
If Moore is removed from office, it will be the second time in nearly 14 years. He was removed from office in 2003 over his refusal to remove a Ten Commandments monument after an order from a federal judge. Alabamans, however, returned him to his original job as Chief Justice in 2012.
