Attorney: Moore Decision Disregards “Rule of Law”
Lawyers for former Chief Justice Roy Moore are appealing his removal from office saying the move was a disregard for the “rule of law.” Attorneys with the Liberty Counsel, a conservative non-profit law firm out of Florida that represents Moore, filed the appeal yesterday.
It once again comes down to semantics. Among other arguments, Moore’s lead attorney, Mat Staver says removing the judge from the bench requires a unanimous vote and that the court ignored this rule. Staver referenced the decision that states, “A majority of the court agrees that the only appropriate sanction for Chief Justice Moore is removal from office.” Staver says a majority is not unanimous and thus Moore’s suspension is illegal.
However, the decision later states that, “It is the unanimous judgment of the court that Chief Justice Roy Moore be suspended without pay for the remainder of his term.”
Staver’s arguments are similar to those he made during Moore’s trial when he said the January order to probate judges telling them not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples was merely a status report to clear up confusion. The court ultimately sided with the Judicial Inquiry Commission which argued Moore’s order defied a federal court decision.
Read the Court’s final decision on the Roy Moore trial here.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
