MONTGOMERY, AL – Chief Justice Roy Moore will hold a press conference today at the Alabama Supreme Court after the replacement judges are selected for his appeal. The drawing of the judges is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CT.

Chief Justice Moore had filed a motion to recuse four of the five justices who made up the 5-3 opinion to select retired, rather than current, judges. These include Lynn Stuart, Michael Bolin, James, Main and Greg Shaw. Moore argued that Justice Stuart should play no role in selecting replacement judges due to conflict of interest, and further argued that a judge who is disqualified from acting cannot be the one to appoint a replacement. In the motion to recuse, Chief Justice Moore also requested that replacement justices be selected by a random and publicly observable drawing from a pool of sitting circuit judges.

However, in a 5-3 vote, the majority decided to allow Acting Chief Justice Lynn Stuart to work with the governor to randomly select seven “retired” judges from a pool of 50 judges. The first seven qualified and willing judges will serve as the special Supreme Court to hear Moore's appeal. The three dissenting justices argued that the judges should be accountable to the public and having a panel of all “retired” judges means they would not be accountable.

“In order for Chief Justice Moore to have a fair and objective panel of judge who will adhere to the rule of law, it is critical that elected judges hear Moore's appeal because they are accountable to the public,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Yet in this unprecedented twist, all the replacement judges will be retired. Chief Justice Moore is merely asking for the same thing any citizen is entitled to receive – equal justice under the law,” said Staver, who represents Chief Justice Moore.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.