Roy Moore, known as the "Ten Commandments judge," edged out his Democratic opponent Tuesday to win back his seat as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, the Christian News Network reports. Moore, the predicted favorite over Democrat Bob Vance, had been removed from the position in 2003 when a state panel expelled him from office for failing to comply with a federal court order to remove a two-ton granite monument of the Ten Commandments that he had placed in the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery. Moore argued he had a right to acknowledge God and that following the order would have been a violation of his oath to the Constitution. He went on to run for governor in 2006 and 2010 and lost, and his name was also mentioned as a presidential candidate in 2004 and 2008 for the Constitution Party, though he never ran. Many predicted Alabama residents would choose him Tuesday due to both his name recognition and his stance on biblical values. "Most people see him as a godly man with strong convictions," said Republican state party chairman Bill Armistead.
