Chief Justice Moore Responds

MONTGOMERY, AL -Chief Justice Roy Moore filed a >Motion to Countermandin response to Justice Lyn Stuart's two letters sent last week stating he needs to clean out his office by October 18. Later in the week, Justice Stuart and Justice Michael Bolin summoned Chief Justice Roy Moore's chief staff attorney and terminated him and two other full-time staff attorneys who worked for the Chief Justice. All three had already been reassigned to work for other justices since Moore was suspended in May. A marshal and one of Stuart's staff stayed with the three attorneys as they packed their belongings and turned in their keys. The Motion to Countermand Justice Stuart's October 11 letter, states in part: "Any rulings to enforce, modify, or enlarge the judgment would properly arise from motion practice by the parties to the appeal, not by the unilateral action of the Acting Chief Justice. Justice Stuart is not a party to the appeal and has received no order either from the Court of the Judiciary or from the Alabama Supreme Court for the removal of the personal effects of the Chief Justice from his office. Her ultra vires action is an unlawful usurpation of the authority of the parties to the case and the judicial bodies entrusted with its resolution."

Chief Justice Moore has issued a statement in response: "My appeal is still pending but Justice Stuart is acting like she has already decided the appeal against me. I have asked Justices Stuart, Bolin, Main and Shaw to be recused from hearing my case. Justice Stuart's action against me personally and the subsequent firing of the staff attorneys I hired is troublesome and such actions prejudge the case. Instead of acting as though my appeal has already been decided, I call upon these justices to recuse. None of them should have any role in appointing successor justices to hear my appeal." Chief Justice Moore also remarked, "I have been targeted for my belief in marriage, a belief shared by the majority of Americans. No one can point to any illegal, unlawful or unethical aspect of my four-page Administrative Order. That order was a status report on the case. A justice should not be removed from office because of a political agenda." "We are continuing to pursue the appeal. This case is far from over and no one should prejudge the outcome," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.