Oh, it is so on...
Verbal warfare on Alabama's Supreme Court has escalated again.
Justice Champ Lyons this week became the second sitting justice to heap public criticism on the Republican judicial tag team of former Chief Justice Roy Moore and Justice Tom Parker via The Decatur Daily, referring to the duo as demagogues whose stances threaten the rule of law. Like his GOP colleague Tom Woodall, Lyons blasted Parker's call for the court not to follow a U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Lyons also condemned Parker for his lack of prolificness and speculated that Moore wants to be governor "as a steppingstone to the White House."
Despite the harsh remarks, Lyons said he liked the former chief justice as a person. He recounted the story of a day when Moore, who had yet to be ousted for his refusal to remove a giant Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building, said he was sore from moving furniture the previous day. Lyons' response, which prompted a laugh from Moore: "Oh, great. The last time you did that, Roy, it ended up on national television."
One final point that deserves mention: Parker's spokesman was truly a sight to behold in this story. In an inspired display of flawless logic, he argued that Parker's January newspaper column, which said the state high court should "decline to follow" a U.S. Supreme Court decision, "never, ever said we should ignore Supreme Court precedent." Instead, the spokesman said, "All Parker said was that we should take another bite at the apple. He said we should challenge it again."
Some might call that idea the doctrine of nullification and remind you of a big war that pretty much settled the matter about 140 years ago. But they probably believe that damn liberal media, too.
Justice Champ Lyons this week became the second sitting justice to heap public criticism on the Republican judicial tag team of former Chief Justice Roy Moore and Justice Tom Parker via The Decatur Daily, referring to the duo as demagogues whose stances threaten the rule of law. Like his GOP colleague Tom Woodall, Lyons blasted Parker's call for the court not to follow a U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Lyons also condemned Parker for his lack of prolificness and speculated that Moore wants to be governor "as a steppingstone to the White House."
Despite the harsh remarks, Lyons said he liked the former chief justice as a person. He recounted the story of a day when Moore, who had yet to be ousted for his refusal to remove a giant Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building, said he was sore from moving furniture the previous day. Lyons' response, which prompted a laugh from Moore: "Oh, great. The last time you did that, Roy, it ended up on national television."
One final point that deserves mention: Parker's spokesman was truly a sight to behold in this story. In an inspired display of flawless logic, he argued that Parker's January newspaper column, which said the state high court should "decline to follow" a U.S. Supreme Court decision, "never, ever said we should ignore Supreme Court precedent." Instead, the spokesman said, "All Parker said was that we should take another bite at the apple. He said we should challenge it again."
Some might call that idea the doctrine of nullification and remind you of a big war that pretty much settled the matter about 140 years ago. But they probably believe that damn liberal media, too.
posted by Alabamian at 1:00 AM
<< Home