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Alabama justice 'urged defiance, not compliance'

Moore said a prior Alabama Supreme Court order from March to refuse marriage licenses to gay couples had not been lifted and remained in "full force and effect".

John Carroll, a lawyer for the Judicial Inquiry Commission, told the court in August that Moore's objective was clear and now he's simply trying to avoid the consequences of his actions.

The trial ended about 2:30 p.m., Wednesday without a verdict. The court will announce its decision within 10 days.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June of 2015 ruled gay and lesbian couples had a fundamental right to marry and U.S. District Judge Callie Granade ordered that she was permanently barring Alabama probate judge from enforcing Alabama's gay marriage ban.

In Moore's testimony to the JIC, he said it was "ridiculous" to suggest he told probate judges to defy the U.S. Supreme Court, according to tweets posted on AL.com. He testified states that weren't party to the lawsuit that led to the Obergefell decision, like Alabama, had to update their own laws, and he was seeking to clear up confusion for the state's probate judges.

He said that he sent the first of two memos to the Alabama Supreme Court urging the court to act in September, saying that probate judges needed guidance.

In 2003, Moore was removed from the same job after refusing to take down a Ten Commandments monument in the secular judicial building, despite an order from a federal court and the constitutional separation of church and state.

He was sworn in as chief justice again almost 10 years later.

Moore was indefinitely suspended after the Judicial Inquiry Commission launched action against him for his string of illegal orders - and is facing a trial on the allegations that he "flagrantly disregarding and abusing his authority" in his crusade against gay weddings. The charges center on a January 6 administrative order to the state's 68 probate judges regarding the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses.

Moore's attorney, Mat Staver of the law firm Liberty Counsel, did not respond to NBC News' request for comment. His removal requires a unanimous vote by the Court of the Judiciary's nine members.

"If we sit back and let the federal courts intrude their powers into state sovereignty, then we're neglecting everything about which the Constitution stands", Moore said.

"He was on a mission not to recognize federal law on same-sex couples", Carroll said. His attorney claims the charges are politically motivated.

With Moore's trial for ethics charges completed, the heads of each of the three branches of Alabama's state government have now undergone serious legal proceedings within the past six months. The speaker of the state House of Representative was removed from office this summer for criminal ethics violations, and a legislative committee will decide if evidence supports impeaching Gov. Robert Bentley following accusations that he had an affair with a top staffer.

However, the Judicial Inquiry Commission said that's not the case because of the Supremacy Clause in the U.S Constitution and because all states are bound by SCOTUS rulings whether or not they are parties in the case.

"Equal marriage is the law".

stayontheblack.com

Alabama justice 'urged defiance, not compliance'