Complaints Against Chief Justice Roy Moore Are Politically Motivated

MONTGOMERY, AL - The Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) of the State of Alabama has filed a politically-motivated complaint against Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Supreme Court of Alabama. The charges focus solely on his Administrative Order issued in January 2016, in which he wrote that the 2015 orders of the Alabama Supreme Court remained in effect until the Court further indicates otherwise. Chief Justice Moore did not participate in the 2015 orders, which ruled that the Probate Judges must uphold the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Act.

"The six charges are based on the JIC's interpretation of how to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's marriage opinion to Alabama, and such a determination is beyond the jurisdiction of this committee," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, which represents Chief Justice Moore. "The Alabama ACLU, a federal court of appeals, and three federal District Courts all concluded this year that the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion does not automatically require the immediate issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But members of the JIC apparently think they know more that the courts, and decided to go after the Chief Justice for what amounts to a politically-motivated complaint. If the JIC can challenge a legal interpretation, then every judge runs the risk of a similar complaint for writing legal opinions that the ideologues on the JIC do not like. This is dangerous, and that is why the JIC has been repeatedly slapped for wading into a legal thicket," said Staver. "The Judicial Inquiry Commission has no authority over the Administrative Orders of the Chief Justice of Alabama or the legal injunction of the Alabama Supreme Court prohibiting probate judges from issuing same-sex marriage licenses. We intend to fight this agenda vigorously and expect to prevail," said Chief Justice Moore. "We have also learned that members of the JIC violated the confidentiality rules and leaked the impending charges to the media before the charges were made public. This is outrageous and those who participated in this conspiracy against Chief Justice Moore must be punished," Staver said.