'Ten Commandments judge' seeks top Ala. post again

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The former top Alabama judge known for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse said Tuesday that he's seeking to regain his old job as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.

Eight years after Roy Moore was removed from the post because of the monument dispute, he announced that he would run for the position again at a news conference on the steps of the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery. The 64-year-old Republican addressed the dispute in his remarks to the media and a couple dozen supporters.

"I have no plans to move the monument to Montgomery," he said, but added that he will continue to acknowledge God.

Current Chief Justice Chuck Malone and Charlie Graddick, a former attorney general who's now a circuit judge in Mobile, are already running in the Republican primary on March 13. No Democrat has announced.

Moore said he does not believe that getting in the race after the other two GOP candidates will hurt him, adding he has strong name recognition and voters know his judicial philosophy is conservative.

"There is no question that I know this job," Moore said. "And I believe the people of Alabama know exactly what I stand for."

Since getting kicked out as chief justice, Moore has made two runs for governor. He lost the 2006 Republican primary to incumbent Bob Riley and finished fourth in the GOP primary 2010. In the spring, he formed an exploratory committee to consider a Republican run for president, but dropped it because he couldn't generate the money needed to seriously consider a campaign.

William Stewart, political science professor emeritus at the University of Alabama, said Moore continues to be popular with some voters but it's hard for any politician to maintain the level of popularity he reached eight years ago.

Pointing to Moore's two failed bids for governor, he said candidates lose credibility with voters when they run and lose.

"He runs the risk of being a perennial candidate," said Stewart, considered a leading authority on Alabama politics.

Moore could hurt Graddick, according to Stewart, who said the two might split more conservative GOP voters. Stewart said some voters also might wonder if Moore would again defy the federal courts if he disagreed with a ruling.