Judge Moore suspended

Judge Roy Moore, the Alabama chief justice who has refused to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments that he snuck into the state judicial building's rotunda in the middle of the night two years ago, has been suspended by the Judicial Inquiry Commission pending investigation of alleged ethics violations.

Chief Justice Roy Moore’s actions next face a hearing before the state Court of the Judiciary after the Judicial Inquiry Commission found merit in a complaint by Montgomery lawyer Stephen Glassroth that Moore violated ethics rules by ignoring U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson’s order.

Moore, who was suspended with pay, had no immediate comment. He has 30 days to respond to the Court of the Judiciary, which holds trial-like proceedings and can discipline and remove judges.

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Moore said he told the commission that he upheld his oath of office by acknowledging God. Moore has said Thompson has no authority to tell the state’s chief justice to remove the monument.

Moore’s eight associate justices on the state’s high court ordered the granite marker taken away Thursday after Thompson’s deadline passed. But court officials were still trying to determine Friday where it might go in the building — it weighs 5,300 pounds — and whether the area would allow proper security.

While I doubt anything will ever convince Moore that he's wrong in having established the monument and in refusing to remove it, it's good to see that the Judicial Inquiry Commission agrees that there is at least reason to review his actions and that he may be held accountable for his ethical violations.

Posted by thorswitch at August 22, 2003 09:05 PM | TrackBack