Roy Moore Trial Ends; Fate of State Chief Justice Unknown
Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore was on trial himself today in Montgomery. He’s accused of ordering probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples some six months after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary trial started this morning and ended this afternoon, with a decision expected within 10 days. Moore could be sanctioned or removed from the Alabama Supreme Court. WBHM’s Dan Carsen spoke with WBHM’s Esther Ciammachilli, who was at the trial today. She says the scene was relatively civil, given what has happened outside other recent Roy Moore hearings, and given what’s at stake.
Listen above, or read key excerpts below. We’ll have more as the story unfolds.
Repeating History?
“Roy Moore faces being removed … for the second time in his career. In 2003 he was removed after defying a federal court order to remove a ten commandments monument. [The current charges are] that once again, he defied a higher court’s ruling when he told state probate judges to ignore the U.S Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage.”
Same Defense
“Moore’s attorney Mat Staver stuck to his guns. He said that the order Roy Moore sent in January to probate judges was not a directive — it was just to clear up misconceptions among state probate judges … who were confused as to exactly what they should do. Staver said Moore never told the judges not to issue marriage licenses, that the order was nothing but what he called a ‘status report.'”
Esther Ciammachilli,WBHM
Roy Moore opponents setting up before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary trial.
Judge orders new Alabama Senate map after ruling found racial gerrymandering
U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, issued the ruling Monday putting a new court-selected map in place for the 2026 and 2030 elections.
Construction on Meta’s largest data center brings 600% crash spike, chaos to rural Louisiana
An investigation from the Gulf States Newsroom found that trucks contracted to work at the Meta facility are causing delays and dangerous roads in Holly Ridge.
Bessemer City Council approves rezoning for a massive data center, dividing a community
After the Bessemer City Council voted 5-2 to rezone nearly 700 acres of agricultural land for the “hyperscale” server farm, a dissenting council member said city officials who signed non-disclosure agreements weren’t being transparent with citizens.
Alabama Public Television meeting draws protesters in Birmingham over discussion of disaffiliating from PBS
Some members of the Alabama Educational Television Commission, which oversees APT, said disaffiliation is needed because the network has to cut costs after the Trump administration eliminated all funding for public media this summer.
Gov. Kay Ivey urges delay on PBS decision by public TV board
The Republican governor sent a letter to the Alabama Educational Television Commission ahead of a Nov. 18 meeting in which commissioners were expected to discuss disaffiliation.
A proposed Bessemer data center faces new hurdles: a ‘road to nowhere’ and the Birmingham darter
With the City Council in Bessemer scheduled to vote Tuesday on a “hyperscale” data center, challenges from an environmental group and the Alabama Department of Transportation present potential obstacles for the wildly unpopular project.
