Moore Loses First Round In Suit Against Sasha Cohen

From the Hollywood Reporter:

Sacha Baron Cohen and Showtime Networks have convinced a D.C. federal judge that the $95 million defamation lawsuit brought by Roy Moore belongs in New York. The decision to transfer the case isn’t the end of Moore’s suit contending he was duped into appearing Who Is America, where Cohen famously pointed a device at the controversial former Alabama judge to purportedly detect a sex offender. But the ruling, issued at an oral hearing on Monday morning, could be a good sign for the defendants.

Buzzfeed News reports:



Monday’s hearing didn’t start well for Moore, who was sitting in court next to his wife Kayla Moore, also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Moore’s lawyer Larry Klayman introduced Moore as “chief justice,” the title Moore held when he served on the Alabama Supreme Court. Hogan noted Moore was a “former” judge, however, and had Klayman acknowledge Moore was no longer on the bench. Moore was removed twice from the state Supreme Court before running for Sessions’ seat.

Klayman had another awkward exchange with the judge later in the hearing. Hogan asked Klayman about an argument he’d made in a brief about Cohen and Showtime preferring New York because they were more likely to get a “left-leaning” judge there. Klayman initially said he didn’t believe he used that term, but walked that back when Hogan cited the page number where it appeared. Federal judges tend to bristle at arguments about their political leanings, perceived or real.