PRYOR VS. MOORE III
Feddie at Southern Appeal continues his coverage of the controversy, with a couple of interesting notes:
My friends in Alabama tell me that it is quite likely that the Supreme Court of Alabama (of which Moore is the chief justice) will order the removal of the Ten Commandments monument, and that Moore may also be charged by the Judicial Inquiry Commission with violating the Canons of Judicial Ethics. Anybody care to guess who will be prosecuting the case against Moore if he is charged by the Judicial Inquiry Commission with violating the Canons of Judicial Ethics. You guessed it–Attorney General William H. Pryor, Jr.
I’m a bit skeptical that the rest of the Alabama SC would act against Moore, since they, too, are elected by the same at large constituency that put Moore there. But they may be legally obliged to act.
Feddie also notes that the NPR reports that Pryor is “supporting” Moore in his appeal to the SCOTUS is only technically true:
Pryor agreed some time ago to appoint the legal team that Chief Justice Moore requested. Moore is not represented by any attorney in Pryor’s office, and Pryor’s name will not appear on Moore’s cert. petition.
An important distinction, to be sure.
Call me the cynic if you will, but I’m sure it hasn’t escaped you that Moore is looking into blowing this totally out of proportion. I listened to his interview yesterday on FOX (was it on Bill?) and there’s just something that screams “Look at me!” with his actions. Court decision or not.
Not much doubt of that, Jay. I think he’s sincere in his beliefs, but he’s been hamming this up for years now.
Unfortunately for Attorney General Pryor, his opposition to Moore’s stance will not aid his effort to get confirmed by the Senate. The Democratic opposition to him will continue because it is in their interests to continue to pretend he is something he is not.
If you think Pryor has any chance of being confirmed now, you’re crazy. I hate to put it so bluntly, but that ship has sailed.
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