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128-673: Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2013 to 2017, each time being removed from office for judicial misconduct by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary . He was the Republican Party nominee in the 2017 U.S. Senate special election in Alabama to fill

256-475: A Bachelor of Science degree. With the Vietnam War underway, Moore served in several posts as a military police officer, including Fort Benning, Georgia , and Illesheim , West Germany , before being deployed to South Vietnam . Serving as the commander of 188th Military Police Company of the 504th Military Police Battalion, Moore was perceived to be reckless, but very strict. He insisted his troops salute him on

384-593: A Juris Doctor magna cum laude . University of Chicago Law School In 1991, Obama accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School to work on his first book. He then taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years, first as a lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and then as a senior lecturer from 1996 to 2004. From April to October 1992, Obama directed Illinois's Project Vote ,

512-542: A junior , where he majored in political science with a specialty in international relations and in English literature and lived off-campus on West 109th Street. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 and a 3.7 GPA . After graduating, Obama worked for about a year at the Business International Corporation , where he was a financial researcher and writer, then as a project coordinator for

640-506: A summer associate at the law firms of Sidley Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990. Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review gained national media attention and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations, which evolved into a personal memoir. The manuscript was published in mid-1995 as Dreams from My Father . Obama graduated from Harvard Law in 1991 with

768-542: A voter registration campaign with ten staffers and seven hundred volunteer registrars; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be. In a 2006 interview, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family : "It's like a little mini-United Nations," he said. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac , and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher ." Obama has

896-479: A "confirmed atheist " by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." Obama explained how, through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change." In January 2008, Obama told Christianity Today : "I am a Christian, and I am

1024-554: A 13-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004. In 1994, he was listed as one of the lawyers in Buycks-Roberson v. Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank , 94 C 4094 (N.D. Ill.). This class action lawsuit was filed in 1994 with Selma Buycks-Roberson as lead plaintiff and alleged that Citibank Federal Savings Bank had engaged in practices forbidden under

1152-470: A Republican in the 1994 Etowah County election and was elected to the circuit judge seat (six year term) with 62% of the vote. He was the first county-wide Republican to win since Reconstruction . During Moore's tenure as circuit judge, he hung a homemade wooden Ten Commandments plaque on the wall of his courtroom behind his bench. Moore told the Montgomery Advertiser that his intention in hanging

1280-725: A Senate amendment to the State Children's Health Insurance Program , providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries. Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations , Environment and Public Works , and Veterans' Affairs through December 2006. In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs . He also became Chairman of

1408-506: A basis for the values that I hold most dear." Obama has also written and talked about using alcohol , marijuana , and cocaine during his teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind". Obama was also a member of the "Choom Gang" (the slang term for smoking marijuana), a self-named group of friends who spent time together and smoked marijuana. College and research jobs After graduating from high school in 1979, Obama moved to Los Angeles to attend Occidental College on

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1536-480: A closet, shrouded from the public." In closing arguments, the assistant attorney general said Moore's defiance, left unchecked, "undercuts the entire workings of the judicial system ... What message does that send to the public, to other litigants? The message it sends is: If you don't like a court order, you don't have to follow it." The next day, the COJ issued a unanimous opinion ruling that "Chief Justice Moore has violated

1664-675: A community organizer from June 1985 to May 1988. He helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens . Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation , a community organizing institute. In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time in Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his paternal relatives for

1792-522: A decade in the minority, regained a majority. He sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained, and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations. During his 2004 general election campaign for the U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms. Obama resigned from

1920-459: A devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ . I believe that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life." On September 27, 2010, Obama released a statement commenting on his religious views, saying: I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't—frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in

2048-522: A different title, e.g. President of the supreme court. In other courts, the title of chief justice is used, but the court has a different name, e.g. the Supreme Court of Judicature in colonial (British) Ceylon , the Constitutional Court of South Africa , and the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (in the US state of West Virginia ). The chief justice's personal ruling is equal in weight to

2176-452: A duck to water". Moore married Kayla Kisor in December 1985. In 1986, he ran for Etowah County's district attorney position against fellow Democrat Jimmy Hedgspeth, but was defeated. In 1992, Moore switched his affiliation to the Republican Party . In 1992, Etowah County circuit judge Julius Swann died in office. Republican governor H. Guy Hunt was charged with making an appointment until

2304-561: A female. Bo died of cancer on May 8, 2021. Obama is a supporter of the Chicago White Sox , and he threw out the first pitch at the 2005 ALCS when he was still a senator. In 2009, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the All-Star Game while wearing a White Sox jacket. He is also primarily a Chicago Bears football fan in the NFL , but in his childhood and adolescence was a fan of

2432-546: A field speculated to include former Indiana Governor and Senator Evan Bayh and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine . At the Democratic National Convention in Denver , Colorado, Hillary Clinton called for her supporters to endorse Obama, and she and Bill Clinton gave convention speeches in his support. Obama delivered his acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High stadium to a crowd of about eighty-four thousand;

2560-546: A full scholarship. In February 1981, Obama made his first public speech, calling for Occidental to participate in the disinvestment from South Africa in response to that nation's policy of apartheid . In mid-1981, Obama traveled to Indonesia to visit his mother and half-sister Maya and visited the families of college friends in Pakistan for three weeks. Later in 1981, he transferred to Columbia University in New York City as

2688-625: A half years, supplemented by English-language Calvert School homeschooling by his mother. As a result of his four years in Jakarta , he was able to speak Indonesian fluently as a child. During his time in Indonesia, Obama's stepfather taught him to be resilient and gave him "a pretty hardheaded assessment of how the world works". In 1971, Obama returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham . He attended Punahou School —a private college preparatory school —with

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2816-701: A half-sister with whom he was raised (Maya Soetoro-Ng) and seven other half-siblings from his Kenyan father's family, six of them living. Obama's mother was survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham, until her death on November 2, 2008, two days before his election to the presidency. Obama also has roots in Ireland; he met with his Irish cousins in Moneygall in May 2011. In Dreams from My Father , Obama ties his mother's family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis , President of

2944-513: A household income of $ 5.5   million—up from about $ 4.2   million in 2007 and $ 1.6   million in 2005—mostly from sales of his books. On his 2010 income of $ 1.7   million, he gave 14 percent to non-profit organizations, including $ 131,000 to Fisher House Foundation , a charity assisting wounded veterans' families, allowing them to reside near where the veteran is receiving medical treatments. Per his 2012 financial disclosure, Obama may be worth as much as $ 10   million. Obama

3072-405: A law that increased tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform , and promoted increased subsidies for childcare. In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor George Ryan 's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures . He was reelected to

3200-494: A lawsuit if such prayers did not cease. On June 20, 1994, the ACLU sent a representative to Moore's courtroom to observe and record the pre-session prayer. Although the organization did not immediately file suit, Moore decried the action as an "act of intimidation" in a post-trial press conference. The incident drew additional attention to Moore while he was campaigning to hold onto his circuit court seat. In that year's election, Moore won

3328-760: A major financial regulation reform bill; and the end of the Iraq War . Obama also appointed Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan , the former being the first Hispanic American on the Supreme Court. He ordered Operation Neptune Spear , the raid that killed Osama bin Laden , who was responsible for the September 11 attacks . Obama downplayed Bush's counterinsurgency model, expanding air strikes and making extensive use of special forces, while encouraging greater reliance on host-government militaries. He also ordered

3456-613: A president . Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party , he was the first African-American president in U.S. history. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004. Obama

3584-656: A primary runoff to become the Republican candidate in a special election for a U.S. Senate seat that had been vacated by Jeff Sessions. In November 2017, during his special election campaign for U.S. Senate, several public allegations of sexual misconduct were made against Moore. Three women stated that he had sexually assaulted them when they were at the respective ages of 14, 16 and 28; six other women reported that Moore – then in his 30s – pursued sexual relationships with them while they were as young as 16. Moore acknowledged that he may have approached and dated teenagers while he

3712-684: A third time and worked for the Kenyan government as the Senior Economic Analyst in the Ministry of Finance. He visited his son in Hawaii only once, at Christmas 1971, before he was killed in an automobile accident in 1982, when Obama was 21 years old. Recalling his early childhood, Obama said: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind." He described his struggles as

3840-542: A thousand protesters remained through the end of August. The time limit for removal expired on August 20, with the monument still in place in the building's rotunda. As specified in Judge Thompson's order, the state of Alabama faced fines of $ 5,000 a day until the monument was removed. In response, the eight other members of the Alabama Supreme Court intervened on August 21, unanimously overruled Moore, and ordered

3968-602: A two-and-a-half ton monument in the most prominent place in a government building, managed with dollars from all state taxpayers, with the specific purpose and effect of establishing a permanent recognition of the 'sovereignty of God,' the Judeo-Christian God, over all citizens in this country, regardless of each taxpaying citizen's individual personal beliefs or lack thereof. To this, the Establishment Clause says no. Judge Thompson's decision mandated that Moore remove

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4096-449: A young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. In 1963, Dunham met Lolo Soetoro at the University of Hawaii ; he was an Indonesian East–West Center graduate student in geography . The couple married on Molokai on March 15, 1965. After two one-year extensions of his J-1 visa , Lolo returned to Indonesia in 1966. His wife and stepson followed sixteen months later in 1967. The family initially lived in

4224-471: Is a Protestant Christian whose religious views developed in his adult life. He wrote in The Audacity of Hope that he "was not raised in a religious household." He described his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as being detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person   ... I have ever known", and "a lonely witness for secular humanism ." He described his father as

4352-728: Is left-handed. In 2005, the Obama family applied the proceeds of a book deal and moved from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to a $ 1.6   million house (equivalent to $ 2.5   million in 2023) in neighboring Kenwood, Chicago . The purchase of an adjacent lot—and sale of part of it to Obama by the wife of developer, campaign donor and friend Tony Rezko —attracted media attention because of Rezko's subsequent indictment and conviction on political corruption charges that were unrelated to Obama. In December 2007, Money Magazine estimated Obama's net worth at $ 1.3   million (equivalent to $ 1.9   million in 2023). Their 2009 tax return showed

4480-551: Is one of the three United States senators moved directly from the U.S. Senate to the White House, the others being Warren G. Harding and John F. Kennedy . On April 4, 2011, Obama filed election papers with the Federal Election Commission and then announced his reelection campaign for 2012 in a video titled "It Begins with Us" that he posted on his website. As the incumbent president, he ran virtually unopposed in

4608-566: The 2011 military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 , contributing to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi . Obama defeated Republican opponent Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election . In his second term, Obama took steps to combat climate change , signing the Paris Agreement , a major international climate agreement, and an executive order to limit carbon emissions . Obama also presided over

4736-511: The Declaration of Independence , the national anthem , and several founding fathers. The crowning element would be two large carved tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. High-grade granite from Vermont was ordered and shipped, and Moore found benefactors and a sculptor to complete the job. Moore's actions were made without the consent or knowledge of the eight associate justices. On

4864-615: The Democratic Party presidential primaries , and on April 3, 2012, Obama secured the 2778 convention delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination. At the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina , Obama and Joe Biden were formally nominated by former President Bill Clinton as the Democratic Party candidates for president and vice president in the general election. Their main opponents were Republicans Mitt Romney ,

4992-630: The Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act, marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor. In January 2007, Obama and Senator Feingold introduced a corporate jet provision to the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act , which was signed into law in September 2007. Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to

5120-822: The Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act . The case was settled out of court. From 1994 to 2002, Obama served on the boards of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago —which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the Developing Communities Project—and of the Joyce Foundation . He served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995 to 2002, as founding president and chairman of

5248-579: The Etowah County district attorney's office, serving as an assistant district attorney from 1977 to 1982. In 1992, he was appointed as a circuit judge by Governor Guy Hunt to fill a vacancy, and was elected to the position at the next term. In 2001, Moore was elected to the position of chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama. Moore was removed from his position in November 2003 by the Alabama Court of

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5376-689: The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 , which authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine on federal spending. On June 3, 2008, Senator Obama—along with Senators Tom Carper , Tom Coburn , and John McCain —introduced follow-up legislation: Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008. He also cosponsored the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act . In December 2006, President Bush signed into law

5504-749: The New York Public Interest Research Group on the City College of New York campus for three months in 1985. Community organizer and Harvard Law School Two years after graduating from Columbia, Obama moved from New York to Chicago when he was hired as director of the Developing Communities Project , a faith-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Roseland , West Pullman , and Riverdale on Chicago's South Side . He worked there as

5632-563: The South Side of Chicago in 2021. Historians and political scientists rank Obama among the upper tier in historical rankings of American presidents . Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu , Hawaii. He is the only president born outside the contiguous 48 states . He was born to an 18-year-old American mother and a 27-year-old Kenyan father. His mother, Ann Dunham (1942–1995),

5760-739: The Southern Poverty Law Center were among groups that filed suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama , asking that the monument be removed because it "sends a message to all who enter the Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building that the government encourages and endorses the practice of religion in general and Judeo-Christianity in particular". The trial, titled Glassroth v. Moore , began on October 15, 2002. Evidence for

5888-771: The Tennessee Valley Authority , first building dams and later the Anniston Army Depot . Moore attended his freshman year of high school at Gallant near Gadsden, and transferred to Etowah County High School for his final three years, graduating in 1965. Moore was admitted to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York , on the recommendation of outgoing Democratic U.S. representative Albert Rains , and after confirmation of that nomination by incoming Republican representative James D. Martin of Gadsden. He graduated in 1969 with

6016-655: The courts of Scotland the head of the judiciary of Scotland is the Lord President of the Court of Session , who is also Lord Justice General of Scotland . These three judges are not, though, part of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom , which operates across all three jurisdictions and is headed by the President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom . The chief justice can be selected in many ways, but, in many nations,

6144-489: The "moral foundation" of U.S. law, stating that in order to restore this foundation, "we must first recognize the source from which all morality springs ... [by] recogniz[ing] the sovereignty of God." He added that the addition of the monument to the state judiciary building marked "the beginning of the restoration of the moral foundation of law to our people" and "a return to the knowledge of God in our land". Additionally, Moore acknowledged an explicit theistic intent in placing

6272-515: The Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics as alleged by the JIC in its complaint." The COJ had several disciplinary options, including censure or suspension without pay, but because Moore's responses had indicated he would defy any similar court orders in the future, the COJ concluded that "under these circumstances, there is no penalty short of removal from office that would resolve this issue." Moore appealed

6400-401: The Alabama Marriage Protection Act remain in full force and effect." Chief justice The situation is slightly different in the three legal jurisdictions within the United Kingdom . The courts of England and Wales are headed by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales ; in Northern Ireland's courts , the equivalent position is the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland , and in

6528-421: The Appellate Courts and judges of the Circuit and District Court of this State and members of the bar who appear before them, as well as the people of Alabama who visit the [Heflin-Torbet Judicial Building], of the truth stated in the Preamble to the Alabama Constitution that in order to establish justice we must invoke 'the favor and guidance of almighty God'. On this note, Moore said that the Ten Commandments are

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6656-406: The COJ had acted properly. The court also upheld the sanction of removal as appropriate. Moore sought to return to the bench, and in the March 2012 Republican primary for chief justice of Alabama, Moore won the Republican nomination, defeating the sitting Chief Justice Chuck Malone (who had been appointed by Governor Bentley the previous year) and Mobile County circuit judge Charles Graddick. In

6784-412: The COJ's ruling to the Supreme Court of Alabama on December 10, 2003. A special panel of retired judges and justices was randomly selected to hear the case. Moore argued that the COJ did not consider the underlying legality of the federal courts' order that the monument be removed from the courthouse. The Alabama Supreme Court rejected this argument, saying that the COJ did not have the authority to overrule

6912-517: The Confederate States of America during the American Civil War . He also shares distant ancestors in common with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney , among others. Obama lived with anthropologist Sheila Miyoshi Jager while he was a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s. He proposed to her twice, but both Jager and her parents turned him down. The relationship was not made public until May 2017, several months after his presidency had ended. In June 1989, Obama met Michelle Robinson when he

7040-500: The Defense Authorization Act to add safeguards for personality-disorder military discharges. This amendment passed the full Senate in the spring of 2008. He sponsored the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, which was never enacted but later incorporated in the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 ; and co-sponsored legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism. Obama also sponsored

7168-428: The Democratic runoff primary to fellow attorney Donald Stewart, whom Moore described as "an honorable man for whom I have much respect, (who) eventually became a close friend". A second bar complaint against Moore followed, which was dismissed as unfounded. Moore left Gadsden shortly thereafter to live for a year in Australia. In Australia, a country Moore said later he had wanted to visit after his service in Vietnam but

7296-424: The Establishment Clause." Additionally, the court noted that different religious traditions assign different wordings of the Ten Commandments, meaning that "choosing which version of the Ten Commandments to display can have religious endorsement implications". In response to the appeals court's decision, Judge Thompson lifted his stay on August 5, 2003, requiring Moore to have the monument removed from public areas of

7424-449: The Illinois Senate in 1998, defeating Republican Yesse Yehudah in the general election, and was re-elected again in 2002. In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary race for Illinois's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one. In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after

7552-471: The Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate. In May 2002, Obama commissioned a poll to assess his prospects in a 2004 U.S. Senate race. He created a campaign committee, began raising funds, and lined up political media consultant David Axelrod by August 2002. Obama formally announced his candidacy in January 2003. Obama was an early opponent of the George W. Bush administration's 2003 invasion of Iraq . On October 2, 2002,

7680-540: The Judiciary for refusing a federal court 's order to remove a marble monument of the Ten Commandments that he had placed in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building . Moore sought the Republican nomination for the governorship of Alabama in 2006 and 2010 , but lost in the primaries. Moore was elected again as chief justice in 2013, but he was suspended in May 2016, for defying a U.S. Supreme Court decision about same-sex marriage ( Obergefell v. Hodges ), and resigned in April 2017. On September 26, 2017, he won

7808-574: The Menteng Dalam neighborhood in the Tebet district of South Jakarta . From 1970, they lived in a wealthier neighborhood in the Menteng district of Central Jakarta . At the age of six, Obama and his mother had moved to Indonesia to join his stepfather. From age six to ten, he was registered in school as "Barry" and attended local Indonesian-language schools: Sekolah Dasar Katolik Santo Fransiskus Asisi (St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Elementary School) for two years and Sekolah Dasar Negeri Menteng 01 (State Elementary School Menteng 01) for one and

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7936-573: The November 2012 general election, Moore defeated the Democratic nominee, Jefferson County circuit judge Bob Vance , and returned to the bench. Moore received 913,021 votes, to Vance's 850,816 votes. On January 28, 2015, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a judicial ethics complaint against Moore, stating that he had publicly commented on pending same-sex marriage cases and encouraged state officials and judges to ignore federal court rulings overturning bans on same-sex marriage. Moore issued an order to probate judges and their employees on February 8,

8064-414: The Obama family has attended several Protestant churches, including Shiloh Baptist Church and St. John's Episcopal Church , as well as Evergreen Chapel at Camp David , but the members of the family do not attend church on a regular basis. In 2016, Obama said that he gets inspiration from a few items that remind him "of all the different people I've met along the way", adding: "I carry these around all

8192-433: The Pittsburgh Steelers and rooted for them ahead of their victory in Super Bowl XLIII 12 days after he took office as president. In 2011, Obama invited the 1985 Chicago Bears to the White House; the team had not visited the White House after their Super Bowl win in 1986 due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster . He plays basketball , a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team, and he

8320-498: The Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs . As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa. He met with Mahmoud Abbas before Abbas became President of the Palestinian National Authority and gave a speech at the University of Nairobi in which he condemned corruption within the Kenyan government. Obama resigned his Senate seat on November 16, 2008, to focus on his transition period for

8448-403: The U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges the previous June, Moore issued an administrative order to lower court judges stating, "until further decision by the Alabama Supreme Court, the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court that Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment or

8576-408: The United States traditionally administers the oath of office at the inauguration ceremony of the President of the United States , as does the Chief Justice of South Africa at the inauguration of the President of South Africa . In some countries, such as the United States, the chief justice is also responsible for presiding over certain legislative matters, such as during the impeachment trial of

8704-564: The aid of a scholarship from fifth grade until he graduated from high school in 1979. In high school, Obama continued to use the nickname "Barry" which he kept until making a visit to Kenya in 1980. Obama lived with his mother and half-sister, Maya Soetoro , in Hawaii for three years from 1972 to 1975 while his mother was a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Hawaii. Obama chose to stay in Hawaii when his mother and half-sister returned to Indonesia in 1975, so his mother could begin anthropology field work. His mother spent most of

8832-453: The battlefield, despite official training which discourages such behavior because salutes can identify an officer to enemy targeting. Some of his soldiers gave him the derogatory nickname "Captain America", due to his attitude toward discipline. This role earned him enemies, and in his autobiography he recalls sleeping on sandbags to avoid a grenade or bomb being tossed under his cot, as many of his men had threatened him with fragging . Moore

8960-484: The board of directors from 1995 to 1999. Obama's law license became inactive in 2007. Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996, succeeding Democratic State Senator Alice Palmer from Illinois's 13th District , which, at that time, spanned Chicago South Side neighborhoods from Hyde Park–Kenwood south to South Shore and west to Chicago Lawn . Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation that reformed ethics and health care laws. He sponsored

9088-452: The chief justice position pending a hearing by the COJ. The COJ ethics hearing was held on November 12, 2003. Moore repeated his earlier sentiment that "to acknowledge God cannot be a violation of the Canons of Ethics. Without God there can be no ethics." He also acknowledged that he would repeat his defiance of the court order if given another opportunity to do so, and that if he returned to office, "I certainly wouldn't leave [the monument] in

9216-614: The church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead—being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me . Obama met Trinity United Church of Christ pastor Jeremiah Wright in October 1987 and became a member of Trinity in 1992. During Obama's first presidential campaign in May 2008, he resigned from Trinity after some of Wright's statements were criticized . Since moving to Washington, D.C., in 2009,

9344-485: The day President Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War , Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally , and spoke out against the war. He addressed another anti-war rally in March 2003 and told the crowd "it's not too late" to stop the war. Decisions by Republican incumbent Peter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessor Carol Moseley Braun not to participate in

9472-592: The day before a federal court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in Alabama was set to take effect, ordering them to disregard the ruling and enforce the state's ban under threat of legal action by the governor. On February 9, after the United States Supreme Court allowed the federal court ruling to take effect, probate judges in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Huntsville disobeyed Moore and issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples. On January 6, 2016, after

9600-539: The defendant's attorney objected to the plaque. This attracted the attention of critics who also objected to Moore's practice of opening court sessions with a prayer beseeching divine guidance for jurors in their deliberations. In at least one case, Moore asked a clergyman to lead the court's jury pool in prayer. The local branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent a letter in June 1993 threatening

9728-531: The duties of the governor general. In India, in the event the President and the Vice- President are unable to discharge the functions due to death, resignation or removal, the Chief Justice of India acts as Officiating President of India. Apart from their intrinsic role in litigation, they may have additional responsibilities, such as swearing in high officers of state; for instance, the Chief Justice of

9856-398: The election resulted in wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving 15 candidates. In the March 2004 primary election, Obama won in an unexpected landslide—which overnight made him a rising star within the national Democratic Party , started speculation about a presidential future, and led to the reissue of his memoir, Dreams from My Father . In July 2004, Obama delivered

9984-484: The evening of July 31, 2001, Moore had the completed monument transported to the building and installed in the rotunda. Videotapes of this event were sold by Coral Ridge Ministries , an evangelical media outlet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida , which later used proceeds from the sales of the tapes to underwrite Moore's ensuing legal expenses. The next morning, Moore held a press conference in the rotunda to publicly unveil

10112-494: The favor and guidance of Almighty God.' The connection between God and our law could not be more clear ... A month after his election, Moore began making plans for a large monument to the Ten Commandments, believing that the Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building required something grander than a wooden plaque. His final design involved a 5,280-pound (2,390 kg) granite block, three feet (0.91 m) wide by three feet deep by four feet (1.2 m) tall, covered with quotes from

10240-679: The federal courts, only to determine whether Moore violated the Canons of Judicial Ethics. Therefore, the Court reasoned, it was enough to show that a procedurally-valid order was in place against Moore. Moore also argued that the COJ had imposed a religious test on him to hold his office, and that the COJ's actions had violated his own rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court of Alabama rejected each of these arguments as well, and ruled on April 30, 2004, that

10368-636: The first sitting U.S. president to publicly support same-sex marriage . Obama left office in 2017 with high approval ratings both within the United States and among foreign advisories. He continues to reside in Washington D.C. and remains politically active, campaigning for candidates in various American elections, including Biden's successful presidential bid in 2020 . Outside of politics, Obama has published three books : Dreams from My Father (1995) , The Audacity of Hope (2006), and A Promised Land (2020). His presidential library began construction in

10496-559: The first time. Despite being offered a full scholarship to Northwestern University School of Law , Obama enrolled at Harvard Law School in the fall of 1988, living in nearby Somerville, Massachusetts . He was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review at the end of his first year, president of the journal in his second year, and research assistant to the constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe while at Harvard. During his summers, he returned to Chicago, where he worked as

10624-583: The former governor of Massachusetts, and Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. On November 6, 2012, Obama won 332 electoral votes, exceeding the 270 required for him to be reelected as president. With 51.1 percent of the popular vote, Obama became the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win the majority of the popular vote twice. Obama addressed supporters and volunteers at Chicago's McCormick Place after his reelection and said: "Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in

10752-777: The health care system . Numerous candidates entered the Democratic Party presidential primaries . The field narrowed to Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton after early contests, with the race remaining close throughout the primary process, but Obama gained a steady lead in pledged delegates due to better long-range planning, superior fundraising, dominant organizing in caucus states, and better exploitation of delegate allocation rules. On June 2, 2008, Obama had received enough votes to clinch his nomination. After an initial hesitation to concede, on June 7, Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama. On August 23, 2008, Obama announced his selection of Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate. Obama selected Biden from

10880-473: The help of Republican strategist Karl Rove , advisor to Texas governor and future president George W. Bush . Despite Rove's support and significantly more campaign funding, See lost the primary to Moore. Moore also beat two other opponents, criminal appeals judge Pam Baschab, and Jefferson County presiding circuit judge Wayne Thorn, in the Republican Primary – without a runoff – garnering over 50% of

11008-633: The implementation of the Affordable Care Act and other legislation passed in his first term. He negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action , a nuclear agreement with Iran, and normalized relations with Cuba . The number of American soldiers in Afghanistan decreased during Obama's second term, though U.S. soldiers remained in the country throughout the remainder of his presidency. Obama promoted inclusion for LGBT Americans , becoming

11136-473: The judge issued a new ruling requiring the Ten Commandments plaque to be removed in ten days. Moore appealed Price's decision and kept the plaque up; ten days later the Supreme Court of Alabama issued a temporary stay against the ruling. The Court never ruled in the case, throwing it out for technical reasons in 1998. In late 1999, the American Family Association began working to draft Moore into

11264-513: The keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention , seen by nine million viewers. His speech was well received and elevated his status within the Democratic Party. Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winner Jack Ryan , withdrew from the race in June 2004. Six weeks later, Alan Keyes accepted the Republican nomination to replace Ryan. In the November 2004 general election , Obama won with 70 percent of

11392-639: The monument from the state judicial building by January 3, 2003, but stayed this order on December 23, 2002, after Moore appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit . This appeal was argued on June 4, 2003, before a three-judge panel in Atlanta , Georgia . On July 1, 2003, the panel issued a ruling upholding the lower court's decision, agreeing that "the monument fails two of Lemon 's three prongs. It violates

11520-709: The monument violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and was thus unconstitutional: If all Chief Justice Moore had done were to emphasize the Ten Commandments' historical and educational importance ... or their importance as a model code for good citizenship ... this court would have a much different case before it. But the Chief Justice did not limit himself to this; he went far, far beyond. He installed

11648-655: The monument, agreeing that the monument "reflects the sovereignty of God over the affairs of men" and "acknowledge[s] God's overruling power over the affairs of men". However, in Moore's view this did not violate the doctrine of separation of church and state ; as the presiding judge later summarized it, Moore argued "the Judeo-Christian God reigned over both the church and the state in this country, and that both owed allegiance to that God," although they must keep their affairs separate. On November 18, 2002, federal U.S. district judge Myron Herbert Thompson issued his ruling declaring that

11776-477: The monument. In a speech following the unveiling, Moore declared, "Today a cry has gone out across our land for the acknowledgment of that God upon whom this nation and our laws were founded ... May this day mark the restoration of the moral foundation of law to our people and the return to the knowledge of God in our land." On October 30, 2001, the ACLU of Alabama , Americans United for Separation of Church and State and

11904-478: The next election. Moore's name was floated by some of his associates, and a background check was initiated with several state and county agencies, including the Etowah County district attorney's office. Moore's former political opponent Jimmy Hedgspeth, who still helmed the D.A.'s office, recommended Moore despite personal reservations, and Moore was installed in the position he had failed to win in 1982. Moore ran as

12032-456: The next two decades in Indonesia, divorcing Lolo Soetoro in 1980 and earning a PhD degree in 1992, before dying in 1995 in Hawaii following unsuccessful treatment for ovarian and uterine cancer . Of his years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered — to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect — became an integral part of my world view, and

12160-444: The plaintiffs included testimony that lawyers of different religious beliefs had changed their work practices, including routinely avoiding visiting the court building to avoid passing by the monument, and testimony that the monument created a religious atmosphere, with many people using the area for prayer. Moore argued that he would not remove the monument, as doing so would violate his oath of office: [The monument] serves to remind

12288-401: The plaque was to fill up the bare space on the courtroom walls and to indicate the importance of the Ten Commandments. He stated that it was not his intention to generate controversy. He told The Atlantic that he understood the potential for controversy existed, but "I wanted to establish the moral foundation of our law." While Moore presided over a murder case shortly after his appointment,

12416-520: The position is given to the most senior justice of the court, while, in the United States, the chief justice is appointed by the President, subject to approval by the United States Senate . Although the title of this top American jurist is, by statute, Chief Justice of the United States , the term "Chief Justice of the Supreme Court" is often used unofficially. In some courts, the chief justice has

12544-597: The presidency. On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois . The choice of the announcement site was viewed as symbolic, as it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his "House Divided" speech in 1858. Obama emphasized issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence , and reforming

12672-462: The race for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, when incumbent Republican Perry O. Hooper, Sr. , of Montgomery announced that he would not seek reelection. Moore said that he was hesitant to make the statewide race because he had "absolutely no funds" and three other candidates, particularly Associate Justice Harold See , were well-financed. Nevertheless, on December 7, 1999, Moore announced from his Etowah County courtroom that he would enter

12800-504: The race with the hope of returning "God to our public life and restore the moral foundation of our law". His campaign, centered on religious issues, arguing that Christianity's declining influence "corresponded directly with school violence, homosexuality, and crime". He was the heavy favorite to win the Republican nomination because of his support from the state business community and the party hierarchy, including Chief Justice Hooper. However, as Moore made headway in state polls, See elicited

12928-551: The real meaning of the First Amendment and its relationship to the God on whom the oath was based. My mind had been opened to the spiritual war occurring in our state and our nation that was slowly removing the knowledge of that relationship between God and law." I pledged to support not only the U.S. Constitution, but the Alabama Constitution as well, which provided in its preamble that the state 'established justice' by 'invoking

13056-464: The removal of the monument. Moore said that Thompson, "fearing that I would not obey his order, decided to threaten other state officials and force them to remove the monument if I did not do so. A threat of heavy fines was his way of coercing obedience to that order," an action that Moore saw as a violation of the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution . On August 27, the monument

13184-466: The rulings of any associate judges on the court. In several countries, the chief justice is second in line to the office of president or governor general (or third in line, if there is a vice president or lieutenant governor general), should the incumbent die or resign. For example, if the Governor General of Canada is unable to perform the duties of the office, the Chief Justice of Canada performs

13312-556: The seat in a landslide victory over attorney Keith Pitts, who had unsuccessfully prosecuted the "Silk and Satin" murder case. In March 1995, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Moore, stating that the pre-court session prayers and the Ten Commandments display were both unconstitutional. This original lawsuit was eventually dismissed for technical reasons, but Governor Fob James instructed state attorney general Bill Pryor to file suit in Montgomery County in support of Moore. The case

13440-423: The seat of Etowah County , to construction worker Roy Baxter Moore, who died in 1967, and Evelyn Stewart. He is the oldest of five children, and grew up with two brothers and two sisters. In 1954, the family relocated to Houston , Texas , the site of a postwar building boom. After about four years, they returned to Alabama, then moved to Pennsylvania , and then returned permanently to Alabama. His father worked for

13568-511: The seat vacated by Jeff Sessions , but was accused by several women of sexually assaulting them while they were underage and lost to Democratic candidate Doug Jones . Moore ran for the same Senate seat again in 2020 and lost the Republican primary. Moore attended West Point and served as a company commander in the Military Police Corps during the Vietnam War . After graduating from the University of Alabama Law School , he joined

13696-482: The seventeenth century. Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr. (1934–1982), was a married Luo Kenyan from Nyang'oma Kogelo . His last name, Obama, was derived from his Luo descent. Obama's parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa , where his father was a foreign student on a scholarship. The couple married in Wailuku, Hawaii , on February 2, 1961, six months before Obama

13824-408: The speech was viewed by over three million people worldwide. During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations. On June 19, 2008, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976. John McCain

13952-529: The state judicial building by August 20. On August 14, Moore announced his intention to defy Judge Thompson's order to have the monument removed. Two days later, large rallies in support of Moore and the Ten Commandments monument formed in front of the judicial building, featuring speakers such as Alan Keyes , the Reverend Jerry Falwell , and Moore himself. The crowd peaked at an estimated count of 4,000 that day, and anywhere from several hundred to over

14080-516: The state judicial building until July 19, 2004. On August 22, 2003, two days after the deadline for the Ten Commandments monument's removal had passed, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) filed a complaint with the Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ), a panel of judges, lawyers and others appointed variously by judges, legal leaders, the governor and the lieutenant governor. The complaint effectively suspended Moore from

14208-407: The statewide primary vote. Moore then easily defeated Democratic contender Sharon Yates in November's general election with over 60% of the vote. Moore was sworn in as chief justice on January 15, 2001. Former U.S. representative James D. Martin, who had appointed Moore to West Point years earlier, was among the dignitaries in attendance. On taking the position, Moore said that he had "come to realize

14336-543: The time. I'm not that superstitious, so it's not like I think I necessarily have to have them on me at all times." The items, "a whole bowl full", include rosary beads given to him by Pope Francis , a figurine of the Hindu deity Hanuman , a Coptic cross from Ethiopia, a small Buddha statue given by a monk, and a metal poker chip that used to be the lucky charm of a motorcyclist in Iowa. He joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland,

14464-675: The vote, the largest margin of victory for a Senate candidate in Illinois history. He took 92 of the state's 102 counties, including several where Democrats traditionally do not do well. Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 3, 2005, becoming the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus . He introduced two initiatives that bore his name: Lugar–Obama, which expanded the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction concept to conventional weapons; and

14592-507: Was a leading voice in the "birther" movement , which promoted the false claim that president Barack Obama was not born in the United States. He founded the Foundation for Moral Law , a non-profit legal organization from which he collected more than $ 1 million over five years. On its tax filings, the organization indicated a much lesser amount of pay to Moore. Moore was born in Gadsden, Alabama ,

14720-689: Was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize , a decision that drew both criticism and praise. His first-term actions addressed the 2007–2008 financial crisis and included the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 , a major stimulus package to guide the economy in recovering from the Great Recession ; a partial extension of the Bush tax cuts ; legislation to reform health care ; the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ,

14848-576: Was born in Honolulu , Hawaii. He graduated from Columbia University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and later worked as a community organizer in Chicago . In 1988, Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School , where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review . He became a civil rights attorney and an academic, teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. In 1996, Obama

14976-501: Was born in Wichita, Kansas , and was of English, Welsh, German, Swiss, and Irish descent. In 2007 it was discovered her great-great-grandfather Falmouth Kearney emigrated from the village of Moneygall, Ireland to the U.S. in 1850. In July 2012, Ancestry.com found a strong likelihood that Dunham was descended from John Punch , an enslaved African man who lived in the Colony of Virginia during

15104-524: Was born in 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001. The Obama daughters attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools . When they moved to Washington, D.C., in January 2009, the girls started at the Sidwell Friends School . The Obamas had two Portuguese Water Dogs ; the first, a male named Bo , was a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy . In 2013, Bo was joined by Sunny ,

15232-554: Was born. In late August 1961, a few weeks after he was born, Barack and his mother moved to the University of Washington in Seattle , where they lived for a year. During that time, Barack's father completed his undergraduate degree in economics in Hawaii, graduating in June 1962. He left to attend graduate school on a scholarship at Harvard University , where he earned an M.A. in economics. Obama's parents divorced in March 1964. Obama Sr. returned to Kenya in 1964, where he married for

15360-522: Was discharged from the United States Army as a captain in 1974, and was admitted to the University of Alabama School of Law that same year. A professor and fellow students held him in low regard due to his incapacity for keen analysis. He graduated in 1977 with a Juris Doctor degree and returned to Gadsden. Moore soon moved to the district attorney's office, working as the first full-time prosecutor in Etowah County. During his tenure there, Moore

15488-462: Was elected to represent the 13th district in the Illinois Senate , a position he held until 2004, when he successfully ran for the U.S. Senate . In the 2008 presidential election , after a close primary campaign against Hillary Clinton , he was nominated by the Democratic Party for president. Obama selected Joe Biden as his running mate and defeated Republican nominee John McCain . Obama

15616-444: Was employed at Sidley Austin . Robinson was assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, and she joined him at several group social functions but declined his initial requests to date. They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992. After suffering a miscarriage, Michelle underwent in vitro fertilization to conceive their children. The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann,

15744-673: Was in his 30s, but denied sexually assaulting anyone. President Donald Trump endorsed Moore a week before the election, after which some Republicans withdrew their opposition to Moore. Democrat Doug Jones won the election, becoming the first Democrat since 1992 to win a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama. Moore's political views have been characterized as far-right and Christian nationalist . He has attracted national media attention and controversy over his views on race , homosexuality , transgender people, and Islam , his belief that Christianity should dictate public policy, and his past ties to neo-Confederate and white-nationalist groups. Moore

15872-525: Was investigated by the state bar for "suspect conduct" after convening a grand jury to examine what he perceived to have been funding shortages in the sheriff 's office. Several weeks after the state bar investigation was dismissed as unfounded, Moore quit his prosecuting position to run as a Democrat for the county's circuit-court judge seat in 1982. The election was bitter, with Moore alleging that cases were being delayed in exchange for payoffs. The allegations were never substantiated. Moore overwhelmingly lost

16000-402: Was moved to a non-public side room in the judicial building. The monument was not immediately removed from the building for several reasons – pending legal hearings, the monument's weight, worries that the monument could break through the floor if it was taken outside intact, and a desire to avoid confrontation with protesters massed outside the structure. The monument was not actually removed from

16128-574: Was nominated as the Republican candidate, and he selected Sarah Palin as his running mate. Obama and McCain engaged in three presidential debates in September and October 2008. On November 4, Obama won the presidency with 365 electoral votes to 173 received by McCain. Obama won 52.9 percent of the popular vote to McCain's 45.7 percent. He became the first African-American to be elected president. Obama delivered his victory speech before hundreds of thousands of supporters in Chicago's Grant Park . He

16256-433: Was tried before state circuit judge Charles Price, who in 1996 declared the prayers unconstitutional but initially allowed the Ten Commandments plaque to remain on the courtroom walls. Immediately after the ruling, Moore held a press conference vowing to defy the ruling against pre-session prayers and affirming a religious intent in displaying the plaque. Critics responded by asking Price to reconsider his previous ruling, and

16384-853: Was unable to at the time, he went to Queensland . From the state capital, Brisbane , he first went to Ayr and helped with the sugar cane harvest, then inland to what is now the Central Highlands Region , where he fulfilled his longtime desire to see the Outback , eventually working at the Telemon ranch near Springsure , a town where many residents are devout Christians. One of them, the Rolfe family, ran Telemon, and spoke highly of Moore to The Guardian in 2017, "I don't think he'd ever done that sort of manual labor in his life," said Isla Turner, daughter of Colin Rolfe, who had taken Moore in, "but he took to it like

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