Cliff JudyThe chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court has been warned once again he's overstepping when trying to enforce a former ban on gay marriage, and this time, it could cost him his job.
"This is not about any wrongdoing I've done; this is not about ethics," Chief Justice Roy Moore told reporters during a press conference last month. "This is about marriage."
That's Roy Moore talking to reporters in April about his order to Alabama's probate judges to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
On Friday, the state's Court of the Judiciary filed charges against Moore saying he "flagrantly disregarded and abused his authority" by continuing to try to enforce Alabama's prior ban on gay marriage.
That means for now, Moore is suspended from the bench and could eventually be removed as chief justice.
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage last summer and a previous ruling declaring Alabama's ban unconstitutional, Moore issued an order in January telling probate judges it was their "ministerial duty" not to issue marriage licenses.
The New York Times reports most judges in the state kept issuing marriage licenses to gay couples despite Moore's order.
This could end up being the second time Moore is removed as chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court because of orders seemingly involving his religious beliefs.
"I present to you the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court: Chief Justice Roy Moore!" a presenter shouted during a 2003 rally on the steps of Alabama's state capitol.
In 2001, Moore installed a Ten Commandments monument in the Supreme Court rotunda in the middle of the night without telling fellow justices.
When he refused a federal order to get rid of the monument two years later, the oversight body removed him from the bench. Moore was re-elected to the court in 2012.
This video includes images from Getty Images and clips from AL.com, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and C-SPAN.
