Roy Moore

For other people named Roy Moore, see Roy Moore (disambiguation).

Roy Moore
Moore in 2011
27th and 31st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama
In office
January 15, 2013 – April 26, 2017
Suspended: May 6, 2016 – April 26, 2017
Preceded byChuck Malone
Succeeded byLyn Stuart
In office
January 15, 2001 – November 13, 2003
Preceded byPerry O. Hooper Sr.
Succeeded byGorman Houston (Acting)
Circuit Judge for the Sixteenth Circuit Court of Alabama
In office
November 6, 1992 – November 7, 2000
Appointed byH. Guy Hunt
Preceded byJulius Swann
Succeeded byWilliam Millican
Personal details
Born
Roy Stewart Moore

(1947-02-11) February 11, 1947 (age 77)
Gadsden, Alabama, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (1992–present)
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (before 1992)
Spouse
​
(m. 1985)​
Children4
EducationUnited States Military Academy (BS)
University of Alabama (JD)
Signature
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1969–1974
Rank Captain
Unit504th Military Police Battalion
Battles/warsVietnam War

Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2013 to 2017, each time being removed from office for judicial misconduct by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. He was the Republican Party nominee in the 2017 U.S. Senate special election in Alabama to fill the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, but was accused by several women of sexually assaulting them while they were underage and lost to Democratic candidate Doug Jones.[1][2] Moore ran for the same Senate seat again in 2020 and lost the Republican primary.[3]

Moore attended West Point and served as a company commander in the Military Police Corps during the Vietnam War. After graduating from the University of Alabama Law School, he joined the Etowah County district attorney's office, serving as an assistant district attorney from 1977 to 1982. In 1992, he was appointed as a circuit judge by Governor Guy Hunt to fill a vacancy, and was elected to the position at the next term. In 2001, Moore was elected to the position of chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama. Moore was removed from his position in November 2003 by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary for refusing a federal court's order to remove a marble monument of the Ten Commandments that he had placed in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building.

Moore sought the Republican nomination for the governorship of Alabama in 2006 and 2010, but lost in the primaries. Moore was elected again as chief justice in 2013, but he was suspended in May 2016, for defying a U.S. Supreme Court decision about same-sex marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges), and resigned in April 2017.[4][5] On September 26, 2017, he won a primary runoff to become the Republican candidate in a special election for a U.S. Senate seat that had been vacated by Jeff Sessions.[6]

In November 2017, during his special election campaign for U.S. Senate, several public allegations of sexual misconduct were made against Moore.[7] Three women stated that he had sexually assaulted them when they were at the respective ages of 14, 16 and 28;[7][8] six other women reported that Moore – then in his 30s – pursued sexual relationships with them while they were as young as 16. Moore acknowledged that he may have approached and dated teenagers while he was in his 30s, but denied sexually assaulting anyone.[9][10] President Donald Trump endorsed Moore a week before the election,[11] after which some Republicans withdrew their opposition to Moore. Democrat Doug Jones won the election, becoming the first Democrat since 1992 to win a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama.[12]

Moore's political views have been characterized as far-right and Christian nationalist.[13] He has attracted national media attention and controversy over his views on race, homosexuality, transgender people, and Islam, his belief that Christianity should dictate public policy,[14][15] and his past ties to neo-Confederate and white-nationalist groups.[16][17][18][19][20] Moore was a leading voice in the "birther" movement, which promoted the false claim that president Barack Obama was not born in the United States.[21][22] He founded the Foundation for Moral Law, a non-profit legal organization from which he collected more than $1 million over five years. On its tax filings, the organization indicated a much lesser amount of pay to Moore.[23]

  1. ^ "It's official: Alabama is sending Doug Jones to the Senate (over Roy Moore's protests)". December 28, 2017. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  2. ^ "U.S. Senate Special General Election 2017 Statewide Results". Alabama Secretary of State. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  3. ^ Cheney-Rice, Zak (March 4, 2020). "At Least Roy Moore Won't Be a U.S. Senator". Intelligencer. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  4. ^ Berent, Jake (April 26, 2017). "Roy Moore announces he will run for U.S. Senate". WAFF. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  5. ^ Brian Lyman (April 26, 2017). "Roy Moore will seek U.S. Senate seat". Montgomery Advertiser. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  6. ^ Strauss, Daniel (September 26, 2017). "Moore crushes Strange in Alabama Senate primary". Politico. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  7. ^ a b McCrummen, Stephanie; Crites, Alice; Reinhard, Beth (November 9, 2017). "Woman says Roy Moore initiated sexual encounter when she was 14, he was 32". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  8. ^ Keneally, Meghan; Parkinson, John. "What Roy Moore's 8 accusers have said and his responses". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  9. ^ Gattis, Paul (November 15, 2017). "Roy Moore responds to Sean Hannity: 'I adamantly deny the allegations'". AL.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017. In a statement, Moore said "I adamantly deny the allegations of Leigh Corfman and Beverly Nelson, did not date underage girls and have taken steps to begin a civil action for defamation."
  10. ^ Kirby, Jen (November 10, 2017). "Roy Moore on whether he dated teenage girls: "Not generally, no"". Vox. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  11. ^ Jacobs, Ben. “Roy Moore rival: 'Men who hurt little girls should go to jail, not the Senate'" Archived January 14, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian (December 5, 2017).
  12. ^ "Alabama Senate race results 2017". CNN. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  13. ^ * "Far-right view helps Moore in Alabama". The Journal Gazette. Fort Wayne, Indiana. Associated Press. September 28, 2017. Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Krieg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Leada Gore (September 28, 2017). "First Muslim Congressman says Roy Moore 'lawless'". AL.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
    Jenny Jarvie (September 30, 2016). "'Not going to miss the Ayatollah of Alabama': State's chief justice ousted over anti-gay-marriage order". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
    "US judge ousted over gay marriage stand". BBC News. October 1, 2016. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  16. ^ Massie, Chris; Kaczynski, Andrew (September 27, 2017). "Pro-Confederate activists held 'Secession Day' event at Roy Moore's foundation two years in a row". CNN. Archived from the original on January 27, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  17. ^ Cameron Joseph (October 6, 2017). "Roy Moore's Neo-Confederate Sugar Daddy Has Deep Ties To Secessionists". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  18. ^ Miranda Blue (September 21, 2017). "Roy Moore Boasts Of Endorsements From Neo-Confederate Secessionist, Activist Who Says It's OK To Murder Abortion Providers". Right Wing Watch. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  19. ^ Tom Embury-Dennis (October 6, 2017). "Donald Trump's newest ally 'funded by former white supremacist'". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  20. ^ Brian Lawson (June 23, 2015). "Roy Moore once addressed white supremacist group cited by Dylann Roof, website reports". AL.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  21. ^ Sommer, Will (September 24, 2017). "Roy Moore's five most controversial remarks". The Hill. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference CNN Obama Muslim was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wa Po Undisclosed Pay was invoked but never defined (see the help page).