To: Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission
REMOVE CHIEF JUSTICE ROY MOORE
Petition to the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission to file a complaint with the Alabama Court of the Judiciary against Chief Justice Roy Moore for his blatant disregard for Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution commonly referred to as the Supremacy Clause.
We the taxpayers of Alabama should not be burdened yet again with the additional costs of fighting a federal order as we were in 2002 with Glassroth v. Moore and its companion case Maddox and Howard v. Moore, when Moore similarly defied a federal order to remove a Ten Commandments monument in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building.
U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade struck down the state's 1998 law and 2006 constitutional amendment banning the practice of same-sex marriage in two separate rulings on Jan. 23 and Jan. 26. A federal appeals court denied an extension of the 14-day stay that is currently set to expire Monday, February 9.
Chief Justice Roy Moore, in defiance of federal order, sent a letter to Alabama probate judges on Tuesday saying they are not bound by the ruling because they were not defendants in the lawsuit and have not been directly ordered to issue the licenses. He said the federal court did not have the authority to allow same-sex marriages. "No federal judge, or court, should redefine marriage," Moore said in an interview Wednesday. In the 6-page letter issued by Moore, he states that adhering to the federal decision would “create further confusion and uncertainty as to the administration of justice within this State.” However, Chief Justice Moore fails to provide any evidence that any confusion would ensue. Alabama Probate Judges are capable of enforcing the federal order in a legal, orderly fashion.
We urge the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission to stand with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Human Rights Campaign.
On Thursday, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced that they were joining the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) complaint which seeks to remove Chief Justice Moore. The group said in a statement that the, “Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice is an unethical demagogue, who flouts his oath of office, disregards federal law and ignores the US Constitution.”
The HRC announced that it supports an ethics complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama seeking the removal of Chief Justice Roy Moore from the State Supreme Court for violating the obligations of his office. HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow said, “Chief Justice Roy Moore is lawlessly disregarding the binding ruling of a Federal judge, and he’s encouraging other statewide officeholders to do the same. Moore’s personal opinions are not at issue here. As a lawyer and as a judge, he has an obligation to follow the law. If he refuses to do so, he should be removed from office.”
We the undersigned request an official complaint be filed by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission with the Alabama Court of the Judiciary to seek the removal of Chief Justice Roy Moore.
We the taxpayers of Alabama should not be burdened yet again with the additional costs of fighting a federal order as we were in 2002 with Glassroth v. Moore and its companion case Maddox and Howard v. Moore, when Moore similarly defied a federal order to remove a Ten Commandments monument in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building.
U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade struck down the state's 1998 law and 2006 constitutional amendment banning the practice of same-sex marriage in two separate rulings on Jan. 23 and Jan. 26. A federal appeals court denied an extension of the 14-day stay that is currently set to expire Monday, February 9.
Chief Justice Roy Moore, in defiance of federal order, sent a letter to Alabama probate judges on Tuesday saying they are not bound by the ruling because they were not defendants in the lawsuit and have not been directly ordered to issue the licenses. He said the federal court did not have the authority to allow same-sex marriages. "No federal judge, or court, should redefine marriage," Moore said in an interview Wednesday. In the 6-page letter issued by Moore, he states that adhering to the federal decision would “create further confusion and uncertainty as to the administration of justice within this State.” However, Chief Justice Moore fails to provide any evidence that any confusion would ensue. Alabama Probate Judges are capable of enforcing the federal order in a legal, orderly fashion.
We urge the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission to stand with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Human Rights Campaign.
On Thursday, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced that they were joining the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) complaint which seeks to remove Chief Justice Moore. The group said in a statement that the, “Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice is an unethical demagogue, who flouts his oath of office, disregards federal law and ignores the US Constitution.”
The HRC announced that it supports an ethics complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama seeking the removal of Chief Justice Roy Moore from the State Supreme Court for violating the obligations of his office. HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow said, “Chief Justice Roy Moore is lawlessly disregarding the binding ruling of a Federal judge, and he’s encouraging other statewide officeholders to do the same. Moore’s personal opinions are not at issue here. As a lawyer and as a judge, he has an obligation to follow the law. If he refuses to do so, he should be removed from office.”
We the undersigned request an official complaint be filed by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission with the Alabama Court of the Judiciary to seek the removal of Chief Justice Roy Moore.
Why is this important?
Citizens of Alabama should have a chief justice who respects the law and the limitations to his/her authority. Judge Roy Moore continuing in his current position poses a threat to the rights of all Alabamians. Our rights are at the mercy of his personal convictions.