Roy Moore Biography Quotes 30 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Roy Stewart Moore was born in 1947 in Alabama, United States, and grew up in the state that would shape his identity, his legal career, and his politics. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1969. After military service, he studied law at the University of Alabama School of Law, earning a J.D. and beginning a career that blended courtroom work with a long-standing interest in constitutional interpretation and public service.

Military Service
Moore served as an officer in the U.S. Army, including duty during the Vietnam era. His assignments included work in the Military Police, and his service record helped craft an image of discipline and public duty that he would later emphasize in campaigns and public statements. The military background also informed his strong views on law, order, and the responsibilities of public officials.

Early Legal Career
Returning to Alabama, Moore entered legal practice and served as a local prosecutor in Etowah County. He also worked in private practice, developing a reputation as an advocate unafraid to take firm positions. Those years immersed him in the rhythms of county courts and the realities of criminal and civil litigation, experience he later drew on as a judge.

Etowah County Judgeship and Ten Commandments
In the 1990s, Moore was elected as a circuit judge in Etowah County. He became widely known for displaying a wooden plaque of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom and opening sessions with prayer, actions that drew attention from supporters who praised his emphasis on moral tradition and from critics who argued that such practices contravened constitutional limits on government endorsement of religion. The tension between his religiously informed public stance and constitutional litigation quickly became a defining feature of his public life.

Chief Justice of Alabama and Removal in 2003
Moore was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama in 2000. In 2001, he authorized the installation of a large Ten Commandments monument in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. Legal challenges followed, culminating in orders from federal courts that the monument be removed. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued rulings requiring compliance, and appellate review upheld the directive. Moore refused to remove the monument, arguing that acknowledging the historical role of the Ten Commandments was consistent with the Constitution. In 2003, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary removed him from office for failing to obey the federal court order. The episode made him a national figure to those who saw him as a defender of religious expression and to those who viewed his stance as defiance of the rule of law.

Foundation for Moral Law and Activism
After his removal, Moore founded the Foundation for Moral Law in Montgomery, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on religious liberty, constitutional originalism, and related causes. His wife, Kayla Moore, became closely associated with the foundation and later led it, serving as a public advocate for its mission. Through speeches, briefs, and public campaigns, Moore amplified his legal philosophy beyond the courtroom, positioning himself as a voice for a particular vision of American constitutional heritage.

Return as Chief Justice and 2016 Suspension
In 2012, Moore won election again as Chief Justice of Alabama, a rare political comeback that underscored his continuing support among Alabama voters. The U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges recognized same-sex marriage nationwide, and Alabama's implementation became a flashpoint. Moore issued administrative guidance concerning probate judges and the issuance of marriage licenses, statements that were criticized by civil rights advocates and led to ethics charges alleging he had encouraged defiance of binding federal law. In 2016, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary suspended him without pay for the remainder of his term. Moore maintained that he had been articulating legal positions about jurisdiction and state authority; his critics argued he had crossed the line into misconduct.

2017 U.S. Senate Campaign
Moore resigned from the court in 2017 to run in the special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated when Jeff Sessions became U.S. Attorney General. Governor Robert Bentley had appointed Luther Strange to fill the seat temporarily, and Moore challenged Strange in the Republican primary. With backing from figures such as Steve Bannon and strong support among parts of the state's conservative base, Moore defeated Strange in the runoff, even as President Donald Trump had initially endorsed Strange. In the general election, Moore faced Democrat Doug Jones.

Late in the campaign, several women came forward with allegations that Moore had pursued them decades earlier when they were teenagers, and one alleged sexual misconduct. The Washington Post reported the accounts, and the story reverberated nationally. Moore denied the allegations. Republican leaders in Washington, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urged him to step aside, while President Trump eventually endorsed Moore in the general election despite the controversy. The allegations became the defining issue of the race. In December 2017, Doug Jones won the election, marking a rare Democratic Senate victory in Alabama.

Subsequent Legal Battles and Later Politics
After the 2017 race, Moore engaged in additional legal disputes, including defamation claims connected to the campaign allegations. He also sued entertainer Sacha Baron Cohen over a satirical television segment; Moore's claims were dismissed in court. Remaining active in politics, Moore entered the 2020 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate but did not secure the nomination as the party coalesced around other candidates. He continued to speak at conservative events and to file legal briefs or statements on issues touching religious liberty, constitutional interpretation, and the role of the judiciary.

Beliefs, Influence, and Public Image
Moore's public identity rests on an unyielding articulation of originalist constitutional views intertwined with an overtly religious moral framework. Supporters cast him as a principled dissenter who accepted personal and professional consequences to uphold what he sees as foundational truths. Detractors view his record as evidence of a public official who allowed personal convictions to override settled law and constitutional boundaries. Key figures in these chapters include Kayla Moore, who amplified and managed his advocacy platform; Judge Myron Thompson, whose rulings framed the Ten Commandments controversy; political rivals and allies such as Luther Strange, Doug Jones, Jeff Sessions, and Robert Bentley; and national leaders including Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell, whose stances during the 2017 campaign shaped the national reaction. The enduring debates around his career map onto larger American arguments over federalism, religious expression in public life, and the authority of courts.

Personal Life
Moore married Kayla Moore, and the couple became a visible partnership in law, politics, and activism, with Kayla's leadership at the Foundation for Moral Law reinforcing the family's role in conservative advocacy. Moore has often spoken about faith, family, and service in framing his work. His biography, from West Point cadet to twice-elected Chief Justice, from removal and suspension to high-profile Senate campaigns, reflects a public life lived in contention and conviction, shaped by the people and institutions around him and by the controversies that made him one of Alabama's most polarizing and recognizable figures.

Our collection contains 30 quotes who is written by Roy, under the main topics: Justice - Never Give Up - Freedom - Honesty & Integrity - New Beginnings.