By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Acting Chief Justice Gorman Houston says he does NOT plan to step down from hearing any appeal of former Chief Justice Roy Moore.
A state judicial panel voted unanimously last week to dismiss Moore from office for defying a federal court order to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. Moore hasn't yet decided if he will appeal his dismissal to the Alabama Supreme Court. But Houston says if an appeal is filed, he expects to be there to hear it. He says there's nothing in the law that would force him to step down.
However, he says some other justices could take a different stance on the matter.
Meanwhile, two of Moore's aides that were fired from the court system have now been replaced.
Head of the Administrative Office of Courts Rich Hobson and Legal Division chief Tom Parker were released after Moore was removed from office on ethics charges. Now, Randy Helms, former director of trial court services has been named as Hobson's replacement. Former systems information officer Mike Carroll will replace Parker.
Chief Justice Houston says Helms and Carroll bring 20 years of experience within the court system to their new positions.