A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by suspended Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore against the judicial ethics group that filed charges against him in May.

U.S. District Court Judge W. Harold Albritton issued an order Thursday morning dismissing the lawsuit. The judge on Wednesday had cancelled a planned hearing for Thursday on the Judicial Inquiry Commission's motion to dismiss Moore's lawsuit.

Albritton said that the parties in the case had agreed that all the issues had been addressed in court filings and a hearing was not necessary.

Moore in the lawsuit against the JIC had challenged the law requiring automatic suspension of judges who face ethics charges from the JIC. Moore was automatically suspended when the JIC filed ethics charges May 6 against him regarding an administrative order he issued in January to probate judges regarding same-sex marriage.

Albritton stated in his 19-page memorandum and opinion that a federal judge should not interfere in on-going state court proceedings.

"The voters in the State of Alabama adopted a far-ranging and comprehensive new Judicial Article to the State's Constitution, Article VI, a part of which created a method of dealing with allegations of misconduct by any of the judges of the State," Albritton stated. "It created a Judicial Inquiry Commission, with authority to investigate and bring complaints of misconduct against a judge, functioning in a manner similar to a grand jury. A Court of the Judiciary was created to try and determine any such complaints brought and an adverse decision by that court could be appealed to the Supreme Court of Alabama."

"The new Judicial Article also provided that a judge against whom a complaint of misconduct had been filed with the Court of the Judiciary shall be disqualified from acting as a judge, without loss of salary, while such complaint is pending," Albritton's opinion states. "Chief Justice Moore has asked this federal court to hold that the disqualification provision of the Judicial Article of the Alabama Constitution violates his due process rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and to enjoin its enforcement and reinstate him fully to his service as Chief Justice while the charges against him are proceeding."

Albritton stated in his opinion that the Supreme Court of the United States has long recognized the importance that federal courts should not interfere with ongoing state court proceedings, except under very limited circumstances.

"He (Moore) has chosen not to allow the state courts to determine his federal constitutional challenges, but instead to ask this federal court to act," Albritton states. "This court, out of respect for the state court's proceedings for determining discipline of the state's elected judges, in the manner provided by the state's own constitution, declines to do so."

Liberty Counsel, the legal group that represents Moore, said in a statement Thursday after Albritton issued his order that they argued that striking down the automatic removal provision would not interfere with the ongoing case filed by the JIC.

"Alabama is the only state that has a provision in which judges are automatically removed from the bench when the JIC files a complaint, no matter how minor the complaint," according to the statement from Liberty Counsel.

"Alabama's automatic removal provision goes against the assumption in law that a person is innocent until proven otherwise," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "This provision should be struck down. We will discuss the matter with our client about appealing the ruling. We have preserved this issue in the state proceeding and will continue our challenge to this automatic removal provision."

A hearing is set for Aug. 8 on the ethics charges against Moore before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. Moore is seeking dismissal of those charges at that hearing and the JIC says it wants the court to rule on its motion seeking immediate action against Moore without a trial.

"We are ready for Monday's hearing to address the politically-motivated charges filed against Chief Justice Moore," said Staver.

More details will be posted regarding the judge's order.