On Tuesday, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore asked the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to block a ruling by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals from taking effect while he appeals that decision. If the lower court's decision is not put on hold but he ultimately prevails, Moore told the justices, he may not be able to recover the $8.2 million that the jury awarded him.
According to SCOTUSBlog, in the filing by Moore, "He emphasized that if the mandate – the formal document allowing the 11th Circuit ruling to go into effect – is issued and the $8.2 million bond that guarantees payment of the jury's verdict is released before he can ask the Supreme Court to review the lower court's ruling, "the judgment he obtained after trial will be lost as a practical matter before this Court can determine whether review is warranted."
In August 2022, a jury in the federal court in the Northern District of Alabama found the Washington, D.C.-based Senate Majority PAC was liable for $8.2 million in damages to Moore.
SEE: Roy Moore awarded over $8 million in damages for derogatory ad in 2017 Senate bid
RELATED: Appeals court reverses Roy Moore's $8.2 million defamation award
The judgment was for injury to his reputation in the 2017 special election to the United States Senate, caused by the "Shopping Mall Ad," which stated that he had been "actually banned from the Gadsden mall for soliciting sex from young girls."
The Senate Majority PAC, which claims to be "solely dedicated to protecting and expanding our Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, was ruled by a jury trial to have published the statements "with actual malice," according to one of Moore's attorneys, Talmadge Butts.
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