Appeals Court Vacates Roy Moore's $8.2 Million Defamation Judgment

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Thursday vacated Roy Moore's $8.2 million defamation judgment, overturning a federal jury award that had found a Democratic group's 2017 political ad defamatory.

The three-judge panel said Moore failed to prove actual malice, the legal standard for public-figure defamation. By reversing the verdict, the court wiped out the $200,000 compensatory and $8 million punitive damages the jury had awarded in 2022.

The episode traces back to November 2017, when The Washington Post reported allegations by multiple women that Moore pursued relationships with teenagers and in one case initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old. In the campaign's final weeks, the Senate Majority PAC ran an ad quoting news reports. The ad said Moore had been banned from the Gadsden Mall for "soliciting sex from young girls" and that "one he approached was 14." Moore lost the December 2017 Senate race to Doug Jones and sued the PAC in November 2019, saying the ad defamed him. After some claims were dismissed, a federal jury in Alabama awarded Moore $8.2 million in August 2022, split into $200,000 in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages.

The appeals court ruling was hailed by free-speech advocates and political groups as a victory for robust debate during campaigns. The reversal also represents a major legal setback for Moore and underscores the high bar public figures must meet to win defamation claims over political speech.