Alabama Ethics Panel: Boot Roy Moore Immediately

AL.com reports:

The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission on Friday responded to suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s efforts to have the judicial ethics charges against him dismissed.

Instead of dismissing the charges, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary should issue a summary judgment in its favor and remove Moore now from the bench, the JIC states in its response.

“This court (COJ) can conclude this matter now, deny the Chief Justice’s motion for summary judgment, enter judgment as a matter of law in favor of the commission (JIC), remove the Chief Justice from judicial office, and reaffirm Alabama’s fidelity to the rule of law,” the JIC motion states.

The JIC, in its response filed with the Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ) which is slated to hear the charges, also states that Moore has never expressed remorse for the impact of his actions on the state’s judicial system, but rather has continued to engage in “systematic gamesmanship” to convince the COJ that he never advised defiance of the federal courts. But Moore’s attorney with Liberty Counsel, has mounted an aggressive public relations campaign about “standing up to the federal judiciary,” the JIC states.

The JIC also stated that judges have been removed in other states for far less and also cited Moore’s ouster by the COJ in 2003 when he refused a federal court order to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building.

Moore has until Friday to file his response. In a separate action, the Liberty Counsel is suing on Moore’s behalf, claiming that HIS civil rights were violated when he was automatically suspended while the case is being heard.