MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed an ethics complaint against Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore with the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama Wednesday following Chief Justice Moore’s comments and letter to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley regarding federal judge Callie Granade’s gay marriage ruling.
“We write to lodge a complaint against Chief Justice Roy S. Moore relating to the January 27, 2015, letter he sent to Governor Robert Bentley and his related public statements,” the SPLC wrote in the filed complaint.
The Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama is the same body that removed Chief Justice Moore from office in 2003 following his refusal to remove a 10 commandments monument from the Alabama Supreme Court building—a lawsuit initiated by the SPLC.
In the complaint, the SPLC asserts that Chief Justice Moore’s letter to Gov. Bentley, “violate[s] Alabama’s Canons of Judicial Ethics in numerous and significant regards.”
The SPLC levied three main complaints, citing the violations of ethics rules they believe apply.
— “Canon 3(A)(6) – Improper Public Comment on Pending and Impending Proceedings,” for his letter to the governor, comments to the press, and intention to instruct Alabama’s probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
— “Canon 3(A)(1) – Lack of Faithfulness to the Law and Failure of Professional Competence” for stating that Alabama and Biblical law trump federal law.
— “Canon 1 – Disrespect for the Dignity of the Judiciary; and Canon 2(A) – Undermining Public Confidence in the Integrity of the Judiciary” for what they view an “assault [on] the authority
and integrity of the federal judiciary.”
“Moore is once again wrapping himself in the Bible and thumbing his nose at the federal courts and federal law,” said SPLC President Richard Cohen in a statement released Wednesday. “As a private citizen, Moore is entitled to his views. But as the chief justice of Alabama, he has a responsibility to recognize the supremacy of federal law and to conform his conduct to the canons of judicial ethics.”
Chief Justice Moore’s office has not yet commented on the complaints.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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