Roy Moore

Appointment

In 1992, Etowah County circuit judge Julius Swann died in office. Republican governor H. Guy Hunt was charged with making an appointment until the next election. Moore's name was floated by some of his associates, and a background check was initiated with several state and county agencies, including the Etowah County district attorney's office. Moore's former political opponent Jimmy Hedgspeth, who still helmed the D.A.'s office, recommended Moore despite personal reservations, and Moore was installed in the position he had failed to win in 1982.^[36] Moore ran as a Republican in the 1994 Etowah County election and was elected to the circuit judge seat (six year term) with 62% of the vote. He was the first county-wide Republican to win since Reconstruction.^{[citation needed]}

Early prayer/Ten Commandments controversy

During Moore's tenure as circuit judge, he hung a homemade wooden Ten Commandments plaque on the wall of his courtroom behind his bench.^[37] Moore told the Montgomery Advertiser that his intention in hanging the plaque was to fill up the bare space on the courtroom walls and to indicate the importance of the Ten Commandments. He stated that it was not his intention to generate controversy. He told The Atlantic that he understood the potential for controversy existed, but "I wanted to establish the moral foundation of our law."^[38]

While Moore presided over a murder case shortly after his appointment, the defendant's attorney objected to the plaque. This attracted the attention of critics who also objected to Moore's practice of opening court sessions with a prayer beseeching divine guidance for jurors in their deliberations. In at least one case, Moore asked a clergyman to lead the court's jury pool in prayer. The local branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent a letter in June 1993 threatening a lawsuit if such prayers did not cease.^[36]

On June 20, 1994, the ACLU sent a representative to Moore's courtroom to observe and record the pre-session prayer. Although the organization did not immediately file suit, Moore decried the action as an "act of intimidation" in a post-trial press conference. The incident drew additional attention to Moore while he was campaigning to hold onto his circuit court seat. In that year's election, Moore won the seat in a landslide victory over attorney Keith Pitts, who had unsuccessfully prosecuted the "Silk and Satin" murder case.^[39]

Lawsuit

In March 1995, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Moore, stating that the pre-court session prayers and the Ten Commandments display were both unconstitutional. This original lawsuit was eventually dismissed for technical reasons, but Governor Fob James instructed state attorney general Bill Pryor to file suit in Montgomery County in support of Moore. The case was tried before state circuit judge Charles Price, who in 1996 declared the prayers unconstitutional but initially allowed the Ten Commandments plaque to remain on the courtroom walls.^[40]

Immediately after the ruling, Moore held a press conference vowing to defy the ruling against pre-session prayers and affirming a religious intent in displaying the plaque. Critics responded by asking Price to reconsider his previous ruling, and the judge issued a new ruling requiring the Ten Commandments plaque to be removed in ten days. Moore appealed Price's decision and kept the plaque up; ten days later the Supreme Court of Alabama issued a temporary stay against the ruling. The Court never ruled in the case, throwing it out for technical reasons in 1998.^[36]

Campaign and election

In late 1999, the American Family Association began working to draft Moore into the race for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, when incumbent Republican Perry O. Hooper, Sr., of Montgomery announced that he would not seek reelection. Moore said that he was hesitant to make the statewide race because he had "absolutely no funds" and three other candidates, particularly Associate Justice Harold See, were well-financed.^[24]

Nevertheless, on December 7, 1999, Moore announced from his Etowah County courtroom that he would enter the race with the hope of returning "God to our public life and restore the moral foundation of our law". His campaign, centered on religious issues, arguing that Christianity's declining influence "corresponded directly with school violence, homosexuality, and crime".^[36]

He was the heavy favorite to win the Republican nomination because of his support from the state business community and the party hierarchy, including Chief Justice Hooper. However, as Moore made headway in state polls, See elicited the help of Republican strategist Karl Rove, advisor to Texas governor and future president George W. Bush. Despite Rove's support and significantly more campaign funding, See lost the primary to Moore. Moore also beat two other opponents, criminal appeals judge Pam Baschab, and Jefferson County presiding circuit judge Wayne Thorn, in the Republican Primary – without a runoff – garnering over 50% of the statewide primary vote. Moore then easily defeated Democratic contender Sharon Yates in November's general election with over 60% of the vote.^{[citation needed]}

Moore was sworn in as chief justice on January 15, 2001. Former U.S. representative James D. Martin, who had appointed Moore to West Point years earlier, was among the dignitaries in attendance. On taking the position, Moore said that he had "come to realize the real meaning of the First Amendment and its relationship to the God on whom the oath was based. My mind had been opened to the spiritual war occurring in our state and our nation that was slowly removing the knowledge of that relationship between God and law."

I pledged to support not only the U.S. Constitution, but the Alabama Constitution as well, which provided in its preamble that the state 'established justice' by 'invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God.' The connection between God and our law could not be more clear ...^[24]

Construction and installation

A month after his election, Moore began making plans for a large monument to the Ten Commandments, believing that the Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building required something grander than a wooden plaque. His final design involved a 5,280-pound (2,390 kg) granite block, three feet (0.91 m) wide by three feet deep by four feet (1.2 m) tall, covered with quotes from the Declaration of Independence, the national anthem, and several founding fathers.^[41] The crowning element would be two large carved tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. High-grade granite from Vermont was ordered and shipped, and Moore found benefactors and a sculptor to complete the job.^{[citation needed]} Moore's actions were made without the consent or knowledge of the eight associate justices.^[42][43]

On the evening of July 31, 2001, Moore had the completed monument transported to the building and installed in the rotunda. Videotapes of this event were sold by Coral Ridge Ministries, an evangelical media outlet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which later used proceeds from the sales of the tapes to underwrite Moore's ensuing legal expenses.^[44][45]

The next morning, Moore held a press conference in the rotunda to publicly unveil the monument. In a speech following the unveiling, Moore declared, "Today a cry has gone out across our land for the acknowledgment of that God upon whom this nation and our laws were founded ... May this day mark the restoration of the moral foundation of law to our people and the return to the knowledge of God in our land."^[46]

Federal lawsuit

On October 30, 2001, the ACLU of Alabama, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Southern Poverty Law Center were among groups that filed suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, asking that the monument be removed because it "sends a message to all who enter the Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building that the government encourages and endorses the practice of religion in general and Judeo-Christianity in particular".^[47]

The trial, titled Glassroth v. Moore, began on October 15, 2002. Evidence for the plaintiffs included testimony that lawyers of different religious beliefs had changed their work practices, including routinely avoiding visiting the court building to avoid passing by the monument, and testimony that the monument created a religious atmosphere, with many people using the area for prayer.^[48]

Moore argued that he would not remove the monument, as doing so would violate his oath of office:

[The monument] serves to remind the Appellate Courts and judges of the Circuit and District Court of this State and members of the bar who appear before them, as well as the people of Alabama who visit the [Heflin-Torbet Judicial Building], of the truth stated in the Preamble to the Alabama Constitution that in order to establish justice we must invoke 'the favor and guidance of almighty God'.^[41]

On this note, Moore said that the Ten Commandments are the "moral foundation" of U.S. law, stating that in order to restore this foundation, "we must first recognize the source from which all morality springs ... [by] recogniz[ing] the sovereignty of God." He added that the addition of the monument to the state judiciary building marked "the beginning of the restoration of the moral foundation of law to our people" and "a return to the knowledge of God in our land".^[41]

Additionally, Moore acknowledged an explicit theistic intent in placing the monument, agreeing that the monument "reflects the sovereignty of God over the affairs of men" and "acknowledge[s] God's overruling power over the affairs of men".^[49] However, in Moore's view this did not violate the doctrine of separation of church and state; as the presiding judge later summarized it, Moore argued "the Judeo-Christian God reigned over both the church and the state in this country, and that both owed allegiance to that God," although they must keep their affairs separate.^[41]

Judgment and appeal

On November 18, 2002, federal U.S. district judge Myron Herbert Thompson issued his ruling declaring that the monument violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and was thus unconstitutional:

If all Chief Justice Moore had done were to emphasize the Ten Commandments' historical and educational importance ... or their importance as a model code for good citizenship ... this court would have a much different case before it. But the Chief Justice did not limit himself to this; he went far, far beyond. He installed a two-and-a-half ton monument in the most prominent place in a government building, managed with dollars from all state taxpayers, with the specific purpose and effect of establishing a permanent recognition of the 'sovereignty of God,' the Judeo-Christian God, over all citizens in this country, regardless of each taxpaying citizen's individual personal beliefs or lack thereof. To this, the Establishment Clause says no.^[41]

Judge Thompson's decision mandated that Moore remove the monument from the state judicial building by January 3, 2003, but stayed this order on December 23, 2002, after Moore appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. This appeal was argued on June 4, 2003, before a three-judge panel in Atlanta, Georgia. On July 1, 2003, the panel issued a ruling upholding the lower court's decision, agreeing that "the monument fails two of Lemon's three prongs. It violates the Establishment Clause." Additionally, the court noted that different religious traditions assign different wordings of the Ten Commandments, meaning that "choosing which version of the Ten Commandments to display can have religious endorsement implications".^[49]

In response to the appeals court's decision, Judge Thompson lifted his stay on August 5, 2003, requiring Moore to have the monument removed from public areas of the state judicial building by August 20.^[50]

Protests and monument removal

On August 14, Moore announced his intention to defy Judge Thompson's order to have the monument removed. Two days later, large rallies in support of Moore and the Ten Commandments monument formed in front of the judicial building, featuring speakers such as Alan Keyes, the Reverend Jerry Falwell, and Moore himself. The crowd peaked at an estimated count of 4,000 that day,^[51] and anywhere from several hundred to over a thousand protesters remained through the end of August.

The time limit for removal expired on August 20, with the monument still in place in the building's rotunda. As specified in Judge Thompson's order, the state of Alabama faced fines of $5,000 a day until the monument was removed. In response, the eight other members of the Alabama Supreme Court intervened on August 21, unanimously overruled Moore, and ordered the removal of the monument.^[52][53]

Moore said that Thompson, "fearing that I would not obey his order, decided to threaten other state officials and force them to remove the monument if I did not do so. A threat of heavy fines was his way of coercing obedience to that order," an action that Moore saw as a violation of the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.^[24]

On August 27, the monument was moved to a non-public side room in the judicial building.^[54] The monument was not immediately removed from the building for several reasons – pending legal hearings, the monument's weight, worries that the monument could break through the floor if it was taken outside intact, and a desire to avoid confrontation with protesters massed outside the structure. The monument was not actually removed from the state judicial building until July 19, 2004.^[55]

Removal from office

On August 22, 2003, two days after the deadline for the Ten Commandments monument's removal had passed, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) filed a complaint with the Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ), a panel of judges, lawyers and others appointed variously by judges, legal leaders, the governor and the lieutenant governor. The complaint effectively suspended Moore from the chief justice position pending a hearing by the COJ.^[56]

The COJ ethics hearing was held on November 12, 2003. Moore repeated his earlier sentiment that "to acknowledge God cannot be a violation of the Canons of Ethics. Without God there can be no ethics." He also acknowledged that he would repeat his defiance of the court order if given another opportunity to do so, and that if he returned to office, "I certainly wouldn't leave [the monument] in a closet, shrouded from the public." In closing arguments, the assistant attorney general said Moore's defiance, left unchecked, "undercuts the entire workings of the judicial system ... What message does that send to the public, to other litigants? The message it sends is: If you don't like a court order, you don't have to follow it."^[57]

The next day, the COJ issued a unanimous opinion ruling that "Chief Justice Moore has violated the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics as alleged by the JIC in its complaint." The COJ had several disciplinary options, including censure or suspension without pay, but because Moore's responses had indicated he would defy any similar court orders in the future, the COJ concluded that "under these circumstances, there is no penalty short of removal from office that would resolve this issue."^[58]

Moore appealed the COJ's ruling to the Supreme Court of Alabama on December 10, 2003. A special panel of retired judges and justices was randomly selected to hear the case. Moore argued that the COJ did not consider the underlying legality of the federal courts' order that the monument be removed from the courthouse. The Alabama Supreme Court rejected this argument, saying that the COJ did not have the authority to overrule the federal courts, only to determine whether Moore violated the Canons of Judicial Ethics. Therefore, the Court reasoned, it was enough to show that a procedurally-valid order was in place against Moore. Moore also argued that the COJ had imposed a religious test on him to hold his office, and that the COJ's actions had violated his own rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.^[59]

The Supreme Court of Alabama rejected each of these arguments as well, and ruled on April 30, 2004, that the COJ had acted properly. The court also upheld the sanction of removal as appropriate.^[59]

Suspension by the Court of the Judiciary

In June 2016, Moore filed a motion to dismiss the JIC proceedings, arguing, among other things, that the JIC and Alabama Court of the Judiciary lacked jurisdiction to review administrative orders that he issued and that the orders of the Alabama Supreme Court were still in effect from the Alabama Policy Institute proceedings prohibiting the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses by probate judges in Alabama, despite the rulings in Obergefell v. Hodges issued by the U.S. Supreme Court, Searcy v. Strange, Strawser v. Strange, and the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which held that the orders were abrogated by Obergefell.^{[69][76][77][78][79]} The Court of the Judiciary set a hearing date for the motion to dismiss and ruled that it would be treated as a motion for summary judgment pertaining to the charges filed by the JIC.^[80][81]

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT rights group, responded: "It is clear that Roy Moore not only believes he is above the law, he believes he is above judicial ethics ... Moore was tasked with upholding the law of the land when marriage equality was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States, and he defied that task, in the process harming loving, committed same-sex couples across Alabama for his own personal, discriminatory reasons."^[82]

In July 2016, the JIC filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, asking the Court of the Judiciary to issue summary judgment removing Moore from the bench. Attorneys for the JIC wrote: "Because the chief justice has proven – and promised – that he will not change his behavior, he has left this Court with no choice but to remove him from office to preserve the integrity, independence, impartiality of Alabama's judiciary and the citizens who depend on it for justice."^[83][84][85] In their reply, Moore (through his attorneys at Liberty Counsel) denied that Moore had directed Alabama's probate judges to disobey an injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, asserting that the orders of the Alabama Supreme Court, which required Alabama's probate judges to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, were still in effect. Moore argued that his January 6 administrative order was mischaracterized by the JIC, despite the fact that the January 6 order stated "Until further decision by the Alabama Supreme Court, the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court that Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment or the Alabama Marriage Protection Act remain in full force and effect."^{[86][87][88][89]}

At an August 2016 hearing before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary on the motions to dismiss and for summary judgment, Moore's attorneys continued to assert that Moore did not order probate judges to disobey the injunction issued by the U.S. District Court or the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. The attorney for the JIC responded that Moore's argument "defies common sense" and said that Moore was defying a federal court order, just as he did in 2003, and should be immediately removed from office.^[90][91] The Alabama Court of the Judiciary subsequently denied both Moore's motion and the JIC motion and set a trial date.^[92]

On September 30, 2016, Moore was found guilty of all six charges and suspended for the remainder of his term, slated to end in 2019.^[93] In its 50-page order, the Court of the Judiciary stated it did not find credible Moore's claim that the purpose for the January 6 order was "merely to provide a 'status update' to the state's probate judges".^[93] The ruling meant that Moore would not receive a salary paid for the remainder of his term. Moore also was ordered to pay court costs. The ruling effectively ended Moore's Supreme Court career, as he would not be eligible for reelection in 2018 because he will be above the maximum age (in Alabama, candidates for the Court must be 69 years of age or younger).^[94][95]

Appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court and resignation

In October 2016, Moore filed a notice of appeal with the Court of the Judiciary appealing his suspension and the final judgment to the Alabama Supreme Court. Among other claims, Moore contended that neither the JIC nor the COJ had jurisdiction to investigate and punish him for his issuance of the Administrative Order of January 6, 2016; that the six charges against him had not been proven by clear and convincing evidence, and that by "suspending him" without pay for the remainder of his term, the COJ had effectively removed him from office without unanimous agreement of the COJ, as required under Alabama law.^{[96][97][98][99]} Pending the appeal, Moore refused to clean out his office.^[100]

The Alabama Supreme Court randomly selected seven retired judges to review the appeal of Moore's suspension,^{[101][102][103]} Governor Robert Bentley issued an executive order formally appointing the special Supreme Court of these seven retired justices to hear Moore's appeal from the decision of the COJ that suspended him from the bench for the remainder of his term.^[104]

In December 2016, Moore – represented by the group Liberty Counsel – filed his appeal brief with the special Alabama Supreme Court.^{[105][106][107][108][109]} Eight current and retired Alabama judges filed an amicus brief in support of Moore, asserting in their filings that Moore's suspension was, in fact, a removal from office and contrary to Alabama law since it required unanimous agreement of the COJ, despite the fact the COJ did unanimously agree in their final judgment to suspend Moore for the remainder of his term.^[110][111]

At Moore's request,^[112] oral argument was canceled to speed up the proceedings, and the special Supreme Court agreed to rule on the case based on the written submissions of the parties.^{[113][114][115]}

On April 20, the special Supreme Court upheld Moore's suspension.^[116] In its opinion, the special Supreme Court ruled that all of the JIC's charges against Moore were supported by clear and convincing evidence. The Court also ruled that it did not have authority to rescind the sanctions imposed on Moore because the charges were amply supported by clear and convincing evidence, and that the JIC was unanimous in their decision to suspend Moore for the remainder of his term.^[117]

Six days following the court's ruling, Moore resigned from the Alabama Supreme Court.^[118]

He then announced he would be running for the United States Senate.^[4][5] About Moore's candidacy, Richard Shelby, Alabama's senior U.S. senator, harbored concerns about him long before sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, including his willingness as a judge to disobey judicial orders, saying, "I disagree with a lot of court decisions ... but still it's the law."^[119]

In 2022, his defamation lawsuit between him and a woman who accused him of sexual misconduct ended with neither party getting a judgment in its favor.^[120]

Republican U.S. Senate primary

On August 15, 2017, Moore and Strange advanced to the primary runoff after Moore finished first with 38.9% of the vote to Strange's 32.8%.^[142] President Donald Trump reluctantly supported Moore's opponent Strange during the primary,^[143] dispensing with traditional presidential caution in becoming involved with contested primaries,^[144][145] and almost the whole national Republican establishment wanted Strange to win.^{[146][147][148]} Trump's efforts on behalf of Strange included a series of tweets, and a rally in Alabama, where he admitted that he "might have made a mistake" in his endorsement of Strange and emphasized repeatedly that he would support Moore if he won, but still urged voters to vote for Strange.^{[149][144][150]}

Moore was outspent in the runoff by a margin of 10-to-1, thanks in part to the efforts of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.^[146][151] On September 26, 2017, Moore defeated Strange in the Republican primary runoff election to become the Republican nominee.^[152] This marked the first time since 2010 that an insurgent defeated an incumbent U.S. Senator having active White House support.^[153] The percentages were 54.6% for Moore to 45.4% for Strange.^[154]

U.S. Senate special election campaign

Moore faced Democratic nominee Doug Jones, a former United States attorney, and several write-in candidates in a special election on December 12, 2017.^[155][156] Moore turned down debate invitations extended by the League of Women Voters^[157] and WHNT-TV and AL.com.^[158][159] Moore said that he refused to debate Jones because of Jones's "very liberal stance on transgenderism and transgenderism in the military and in bathrooms".^[160]

In early November, when sexual misconduct allegations against Moore were reported, many Republicans at the national level called for Moore to drop out of the race or withdrew their endorsements of him.^[161][162] At the time of the revelations, it was too close to the election for Moore's name to be removed from the ballot.^[163] Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan said he should step aside,^[164][165] as did U.S. Senator John McCain and former U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney.^[166][161] Other senators withdrew their endorsements of Moore's Senate candidacy.^{[162][167][168][169]} President Donald Trump initially said Moore should step aside if the charges were true, but otherwise expressed support for Moore.^[170] Trump later formally endorsed Moore.^[171][172] Alabama Republicans largely defended Moore from the accusations;^[173][174] an exception was Richard Shelby, the state's U.S. senator since 1987, who said two days before the election the accusations against Moore were "believable" and that "Alabama deserves better." He said he wrote in the name of another Republican on his absentee ballot.^[119]

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) temporarily withdrew funding from his campaign.^[175]

A week before the election, Trump strongly endorsed Moore.^[171] Following Trump's endorsement, the RNC reinstated their support for him,^[175] and McConnell said he would "let the people of Alabama decide" whether to elect Moore.^[176] Just four days before the election, Trump appeared at a rally in Pensacola, Florida, near the border of Alabama, and again endorsed Moore.^[177]

During a campaign speech in Florence, Alabama, in 2017, Moore decried racial divisions plaguing the United States, stating: "Now we have blacks and whites fighting, reds and yellows fighting, Democrats and Republicans fighting, men and women fighting. What's going to unite us? What's going to bring us back together? A president? A Congress? No. It's going to be God." Moore's reference to "reds" and "yellows" was criticized as racially insensitive.^[178][179] Moore's campaign responded, stating that his statement was based on the religious song "Jesus Loves the Little Children".^[180] In the same speech, when a spectator asked when Moore thought America was last great, Moore responded: "I think it was great at the time when families were united. Even though we had slavery, they cared for one another. ... Our families were strong, our country had a direction."^[181]

In the December 12 election, Moore lost to Jones, who received 671,151 votes (49.9%) to Moore's 650,436 votes (48.4%).^[182] Moore refused to concede despite Trump, Bannon, and others urging him to do so.^[183][184] He told his followers in a YouTube video posted to his campaign account that "it's not over." He added that he wanted to wait for military votes to be counted and the results to be certified.^[185] A number of right-leaning websites pushed conspiracy theories about voter fraud providing the margin for Jones.^[186]

Alabama secretary of state John Merrill told The Washington Post that the result would be certified on December 28, 2017.^[186] If the final margin of victory had been less than 0.5%, then a recount would have been automatically triggered.^[187] In cases where the margin is greater than 0.5 percent, either candidate can request a recount at his or her expense. However, Merrill estimated that a recount could cost anywhere from $1 million to $1.5 million, an amount that must be paid in full when the request is made. Moore had only $636,046 on hand by the time the campaign ended.^[184] On December 28, Merrill and Alabama governor Kay Ivey certified the results of the senatorial election^[188] despite a last-minute lawsuit from the Moore campaign (rejected by a state judge) seeking a new election on the grounds of voter fraud.^[189]

Moore became the first Republican to lose a statewide race in Alabama since Republican Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh lost the 2008 president of the Alabama Public Service Commission election to Democratic former lieutenant governor Lucy Baxley. Moore was the first Republican to lose a United States Senate election in Alabama since Richard Sellers in 1992. Jones became the first Democrat to gain a Senate seat since Richard Shelby defeated incumbent Republican Jeremiah Denton in 1986 in a similarly narrow election, though Shelby joined the Republican Party eight years later. Jones also became the first Democrat to represent Alabama in the United States Senate since Howell Heflin's retirement in 1997.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2018, Moore filed a lawsuit in Etowah County alleging "there was a political conspiracy against him in the 2017 special election". The former was filed against sexual misconduct accusers that came to prominence during the election.^[190] Most of its claims were dismissed in 2022.^[191]