Caleb Moore mugshot.jpg

Caleb Elisha Moore, 24, son of Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, works at the Foundation for Moral Law that his father founded. He has been arrested seven times since 2011, most recently for drug possession in Troy on Sunday, March 15, 2015.

(Troy Police Department)

Caleb Moore, the 24-year-old son of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, admits he has struggled with drugs and alcohol in the past.

He also says that dealing with the pressure of having a controversial politician as father has been a struggle too.

Caleb Moore is back in the news after being arrested on Sunday, his seventh arrest in less than four years, including driving under the influence arrests in both Alabama and Florida, and three drug-related arrests in Baldwin, Pike and St. Clair counties in Alabama.

In a Facebook post Monday afternoon, Moore lashed out at "crooked police officers," saying that he is not a drug user. "This is nothing more than a prime example of how media and crooked police officers and critics of my dad try to not only destroy his career for what he stands for but will go as far as trying to destroy his family. I am not a drug user as the drug test taken today will show. As for the malicious possession charges, justice will be served."

On Tuesday, his attorney, Richard Jaffe, said that Moore over-reacted based on frustration.

"Caleb's unfortunate comment about the police was said out of deep frustration, and he regrets it very much," Jaffe said. "He was the only one of the five boys arrested, although he had no idea there were any drugs in a truck neither owned nor driven by him. All of the other four boys also denied knowing anything illegal was in the glove compartment. There was a false report to the police that caused them to detain the boys. I have absolutely no doubt that when all the facts are out, a clear picture will emerge. It is worth noting that Caleb took and passed a drug test the day after he was arrested. It is these circumstances and others that caused Caleb to overreact and resulted in an unfortunate social media posting that he removed."

Caleb Moore said he's experienced fallout because of his famous father, who came to prominence as "The Ten Commandments" judge, fighting efforts to remove his hand-made wooden Ten Commandments plaques from his Etowah County courtroom. "I've really dealt with it most of my life," Caleb Moore said in a Jan. 30 interview with AL.com. "Most people would get upset and retaliate. I guess some people take it seriously. I really don't. I know in my heart who I am. I could really care less what these critics of my dad say."

Now Caleb Moore has critics of his own, who note that while he works for his father's non-profit organization that promotes traditional family values and moral authority in the law, he has repeatedly run afoul of the law.

Moore was arrested on Sunday, March 15, in Troy, charged with a felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. According to court documents, officers responded to the 1200 block of Allen Street in Troy to a report of an attempted home break-in. They found five men, including Moore, outside near a pickup truck that smelled strongly of marijuana.

After the men said there were no drugs in the vehicle, officers searched the truck and found a bag of marijuana in the glove compartment, along with Moore's passport. Several Xanax pills also were found in the bag.

Caleb Moore has grown up in the shadow of his famous father. He's shown here at left on Oct. 16, 2002, walking with his mother, Kayla, and his father, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. The chief justice was arriving at the Federal Building in Montgomery to testify in a trial before U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson about the Ten Commandments memorial Moore placed in the Alabama Judicial Building. The memorial was later removed and Moore was removed from office, but he's since been re-elected.

Moore was arrested and taken to the city jail. He was released on bond totaling $8,500.

It was the latest in a string of arrests, though Moore appears to have served no jail time outside of the booking process.

In 2011, Moore, then 20, was arrested by Alabama State Troopers and charged with driving under the influence and drug possession in Crenshaw County. He was released from Crenshaw County Jail the same afternoon on an $8,500 bond. His father at the time said he was seeking youthful offender status. There is no court record of the resolution of those charges.

On Feb. 14, 2013, Moore was arrested in Troy on a third-degree domestic violence charge. There appears to be no state court record of the resolution of that charge.

In March 2013, Moore pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charge in St. Clair County and was sentenced to probation. He was given a three-month suspended sentence and told to spend a year at Canaan Land Ministries, a Christian prison-alternative program that offers a one-year rehabilitation process. On Oct. 21, 2013, an order was filed saying he had tested positive for marijuana, amphetamines and Benzodiazape, a psychoactive muscle relaxant drug category that includes Xanax. But on Dec. 26, 2013, Judge Phil Seay filed an order saying Moore had complied with the conditions of his sentence and his probation was ended.

Moore was arrested in Okaloosa County, Fla., on March 15, 2014, on a driving under the influence charge. He was released on a $1,000 bond.

Less than two weeks later, he was arrested in Baldwin County on March 31, 2014, charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. The complaint said he had a "white plastic bottle and black cap to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, compound, convert, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain or conceal" drug residue. He pleaded guilty on July 29, 2014, received a six-month suspended sentence and 12 months probation.

"I did have a DUI," Moore told AL.com in January. "I do have a past I'm not very proud of. That's why God gives us salvation."

Caleb Moore had stirred interest with his Twitter account, which featured tweets that many said were offensive, off-color and vulgar. Pictures he posted on social media showed him at drinking parties.

"Being young and immature, I did post pictures of me with drinks in the background," he said. "I started to mature and realized those pictures were immature. I've done nothing more than any other college kids. Because of who I am, it gets blown out of proportion. Since then I've got in a closer walk with the Lord. Whatever anyone says about me, it doesn't bother me. The people who know me and know what's true can really see what's going on here and see through critics of my dad."

One of Moore's vocal critics, gay rights blogger Joe Jervis, expressed some sympathy for Caleb's continued troubles. "It's unfortunate," said Jervis, whose blog documented questionable social media posts by Caleb Moore. "I'm sorry for his troubles. I believe marijuana should be legal for everybody. The possible breaking and entering and Xanax, that's more troubling. I'm curious about the circumstances that led to the call. He appears to be a troubled young man and I feel sorry for him."

Moore, a Troy University student, works on the staff at the Foundation for Moral Law, which his father founded and where his mother is president. The Foundation is known for taking legal stands such as fighting to deny property rights to the husband of a gay man who died, saying that their marriage was not legally recognized in Alabama. The foundation represented the man's mother, who claimed that she was the rightful heir to his property.

Caleb Moore's job at the Foundation for Moral Law has also increased scrutiny on him. He was listed as executive director and secretary of the moral lobbying group on its IRS Form 990 tax filing in 2012. Moore, in the interview with AL.com, denied he has ever held that position.

"I work in the ministry," Caleb Moore said. "I'm part of the foundation. Matthew Kidd is the executive director. My mother (Kayla Moore) is the president. I do work there. I basically draft letters. I'm also going to school. I'm taking classes from Troy online. I'm two classes short of a bachelor's degree."

The Foundation for Moral Law reported income of $707,818 in 2010, $547,553 in 2011, $557,870 in 2012 and $427,141 in 2013.

Jervis said the travails of the Moore family are being closely watched by gay rights advocates, who say the chief justice's reputation for moralizing means his family's moral character is up for scrutiny too.

"It's a case of the sins of the father being visited on the son," Jervis said. "The state's leading moralist has not kept his own house in order."

AL.com reporter Kelsey Stein contributed to this story.

Updated at 7 p.m. to include statement from Caleb Moore's attorney, Richard Jaffe.