MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Governor Robert Bentley (R-Ala.) named the seven judges to hear suspended Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s appeal in an executive order on Monday, setting the stage for the jurist’s last hope of returning to the bench. The judges will constitute a “Special Supreme Court” that will exist for the sole purpose of hearing Moore’s case.
As listed in Gov. Bentley’s order, the Judges are: H. Edward McFerrin, Robert G. Cahill, William R. King, James H. Reid, Jr., Lynn Clardy Bright, Ralph A. Ferguson, Jr., and John D. Coggin.
The seven were selected at random from a pool of 50 willing retired appellate, circuit, and district court judges. Normally, the Alabama Supreme Court would hear such a case, but justices on the Alabama Supreme Court voted 5-3 to excuse themselves from hearing his appeal. The majority wrote that Moore “must be afforded an opportunity to be heard,” but their ability to remain unbiased could be scrutinized if they participated in the case.
Moore was suspended without pay on Sept. 30 for his defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary found that Moore’s order instructing probate judges to violate the SCOTUS holding violated judicial ethics and suspended him from the bench for the remainder of his term.
Moore was found guilty of all six charges levied against him. If upheld on appeal, the suspension is effective until the end of his term in 2019, and Gov. Robert Bentley will have to name a replacement.
