Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has been suspended for the remainder of his term after he was found guilty of ethics violations for instructing lower courts to defy federal rulings on same-sex marriage.
The state Court of the Judiciary’s nine-member body found Justice Moore unanimously guilty of all six charges brought against him on Friday, stemming from his January order to probate courts informing them of a “ministerial duty” not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Justice Moore, 69, will not be eligible to run for re-election at the conclusion of his suspension due to age restrictions.
A unanimous vote is required for the court to remove a judge from the bench. Justice Moore was removed from the same office in 2003 when he defied orders to remove a monument of the 10 Commandments from the state courthouse.
The COJ did not unanimously vote to remove Justice Moore in this case, but the suspension effectively ends his tenure on the Supreme Court.
Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, which represents Justice Moore, said the COJ’s decision “throws the rule of law out the window.”
“The rule of law should trump political agendas,” Mr. Staver said in a statement. “Sadly, today that is not the case. What this decision tells us today is that Montgomery has a long way to go to weed out abuse of political power and restore the rule of law.”
Gay-rights groups hailed the decision to suspend Justice Moore, calling it a “turning point” for gay rights in Alabama.
“We are thrilled that justice has been done today and he will no longer be able to use the bench to discriminate against people he had taken an oath to to protect,” Eva Kendrick, state manager for the Human Rights Campaign, Alabama, said in a statement. “Roy Moore’s bigoted rhetoric and unethical actions harmed LGBTQ Alabamians and emboldened those who would seek to hurt us further.”
Mr. Staver said the chief justice’s order on same-sex marriage was “merely a status report” and “did not create any new obligation or duty” to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
“To suspend Chief Justice Moore for the duration of his term is a miscarriage of justice and we will appeal this case to the Alabama Supreme Court,” he said. “This case is far from over.”
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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