Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has been suspended, and faces possible removal from office after the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission charged him with six ethics violations with regard to his actions related to marriage equality in the state.
From NCRM:
The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission has forwarded those charges to the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. That court will hear and rule on the charges.
Friday night, Moore told AL.com, "The Judicial Inquiry Commission has chosen to listen to people like Ambrosia Starling, a professed transvestite and other gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals, as well as organizations that support their agenda."
He also claimed the "Judicial Inquiry Commission has no authority over the administrative orders of the chief justice of Alabama or the legal injunctions of the Alabama Supreme Court prohibiting probate judges from issuing same-sex marriage licenses," meaning he does not recognize the JIC's authority to prosecute a case against him.
For now, Moore is suspended.
And, from the NYT:
An Alabama judicial oversight body on Friday filed a formal complaint against Roy S. Moore, the chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court, charging that he had “flagrantly disregarded and abused his authority” in ordering the state’s probate judges to refuse applications for marriage licenses by same-sex couples.
As a result of the charges, Chief Justice Moore, 69, has been immediately suspended from the bench and is facing a potential hearing before the state’s Court of the Judiciary, a panel of judges, lawyers and other appointees. Among possible outcomes at such a hearing would be his removal from office.
xReported elsewhere and just confirmed it: The JIC charges mean Chief Justice Roy Moore has been suspended. #alpolitics
— Brian Lyman (@lyman_brian) May 7, 2016 xThe Judicial Inquiry Commission Complaint against Roy Moore is here: (via @splcenter) https://t.co/BxFF3sUhAy
— Equality Case Files (@EQCF) May 7, 2016