Nation/World

Alabama judge suspended from office for refusing to sign marriage licenses

Alabama's top judge was suspended from the bench and removed from office without pay for the remainder of his term, the state's Court of the Judiciary ruled Friday.

This is the second time Roy S. Moore, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, has been pulled from office, following his ouster in 2003 over his refusal to follow judicial rulings.

A complaint was filed by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission charging Moore with violating judicial ethics in issuing an order in January stating that probate judges in the state "have a ministerial duty not to issue" marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

In a 50-page ruling Friday, two days after Moore appeared for a hearing in the case, Alabama's Court of the Judiciary found Moore guilty of failing to comply with the law, uphold the integrity of the court and "perform the duties of his office impartially."

This commission "apparently wanted Chief Justice Moore to usurp the authority of the Alabama Supreme Court and order all probate judges to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples," Moore's attorney, Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said earlier this week.

Staver said the commission "overstepped its authority to bring these politically-motivated charges" against Moore.

Liberty Counsel, a group best known for defending the Kentucky clerk who would not sign same-sex marriage licenses last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday about the decision to suspend Moore.

ADVERTISEMENT