Roy Moore is on a long list of people who got bad news from the Supreme Court as the justices began their new term Monday.

The denial of his petition marked the latest appellate rejection for the former Alabama chief justice, who sought to salvage an $8.2 million jury award stemming from a campaign ad during his failed GOP campaign for the Senate in 2017. He said the ad falsely portrayed him as soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl.

Moore previously lost an emergency motion that tried to block an appellate ruling against that Alabama jury verdict from taking effect. Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles urgent litigation requests from the Southeastern circuit, delivered the prior defeat in late June.

Monday’s denial appeared on an order list announcing the latest action on pending petitions, mostly denials in a long list of cases, which was published as the justices returned to the bench to start their new term. In line with the court’s typical practice, there was no explanation for the rejection, and none of the justices signaled any interest in reviewing Moore’s appeal. It takes four justices to grant review.

The rejection of Moore’s petition was all but guaranteed in light of how the justices treated it ahead of Monday. The Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC, which won in the appeals court, waived its right to respond to Moore at the Supreme Court. When that happens, the justices will sometimes request a response. But that didn’t happen here, signaling the petition was headed for rejection, which is what happened Monday.

Moore’s loss also marks the court’s latest denial of a petition asking the justices to reconsider their defamation precedents dating back to the landmark New York Times Co. v. Sullivan case from 1964, which imposes a high burden on public figures seeking to win defamation cases.

When it ruled against him, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit agreed with Senate Majority PAC that Moore failed to present clear and convincing evidence that the group published the implication in the ad with “actual malice,” as required under Supreme Court precedent, which makes plaintiffs prove the alleged defamation was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard for whether it was false.

Citing news reports, the 2017 ad said Moore “was actually banned from the Gadsden Mall … for soliciting sex from young girls” and that one of the girls “was 14 and working as Santa’s helper.”

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