Judge Roy Moore, who made headlines when state officials removed him from his position as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 2003, has been re-elected to that very post.
In a race that was called some hours after polls closed tonight, Moore was declared winner over Bob Vance, a Jefferson County circuit judge. The victory margin was 52-48 percent.
After the race was called, Moore told WND he will concentrate on assessing the case load, the budget and other administrative tasks as soon as he takes office early in the new year.
“It was a wonderful victory,” he said.
In a recent editorial asking for votes, he explained that the controversy that resulted in his removal nearly 10 years ago was not primarily about a Ten Commandments monument he had had installed in the court building.
“I will … lead the judicial system of Alabama to uphold constitutional principles and moral values contained in our law and will resist all efforts to disparage or destroy our beloved constitution,” he wrote then.
“Perhaps most Alabamians remember me because I displayed a monument of the Ten Commandments at the Supreme Court when I was Chief Justice. But what many do not understand is that it was a constitutional issue, not about the Ten Commandments or a monument – but whether the state of Alabama could acknowledge God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, and government,” he wrote.
“In fact, the federal district judge specifically stated in his order, ‘While the Chief Justice is free to keep whatever religious belief he chooses the state [of Alabama] may not acknowledge the sovereignty of the Judeo Christian God and attribute to that God our religious freedom,” he said.
But he pointed out that that order itself “contradicted the United States Supreme Court, which declared in 1931 and 1946 that our religious liberty is given by God.”
“The true issue is whether we can acknowledge the sovereignty of Almighty God over the affairs of our state and our law,” he has said.
He told WND that he has no plans to reprise that argument during his coming term.
In the election campaign, he won the endorsement of legendary martial arts champion and film tough guy Chuck Norris.
Norris, the star of the recently released “Expendables 2,” a shoot ’em-up that also features other Hollywood tough guys, made a radio ad to promote Moore’s candidacy.
Norris said America “is at a tipping point.”
“We need true patriots to get us out of the mess we’re in,” he said. “I know Judge Roy Moore, and he is a true patriot.”
Norris’ wife, Gena, adds that Moore “fought the ACLU and liberal judges to preserve our rights and freedoms.”
Chuck Norris said, “He knows our liberty is given by God, not government.”
In a statement posted by Human Events, Norris wrote: “Gone are the days when patriots such as Isaac Shelby, Charles McDowell and Elijah Clark led attacks against loyalist posts during the Revolutionary War. But present today are many other great patriots, aside from the one in the presidential race – such as Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.; Rep. Allen West, R-Fla.; Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz, R-Texas; Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo.; Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, “Joe the Plumber,” R-Ohio; and Judge Roy Moore, R-Ala. – who are fighting worthy battles in state election arenas at this very moment.”
Norris endorsed Moore’s campaign in 2010 for governor, noting, “More than just an amazing legal mind, he is first a true patriot and passionate family man.”
He said then Moore is one of the “constitutionally abiding legal eagles who walk in the legacy of our Founding Fathers and who we need serving in every state across our union.”
Moore told WND it would be a “significant statement” for voters to return him to office, “knowing what I stand for.”
He even earned the endorsement of the state AFL-CIO.
Since his removal from office a decade ago, Moore has served with the Foundation for Moral Law and surprised political observers by taking a majority, 51 percent, of the primary vote in March against two other contenders.
As WND also reported, Moore lit a fire in the hearts of tea partiers at the first national convention in Nashville, inspiring four impassioned standing ovations with his reading of a “bill of particulars” against President Obama.
He also told a cheering crowd, “We’re tired of liberal Republicans who don’t hold the principles of their party.”
He’s the author of “So Help Me God: The Ten Commandments, Judicial Tyranny, and the Battle for Religious Freedom.”
