Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has doubled down on his statement that probate judges do not need to adhere to federal Judge Granade's favorable marriage equality ruling. Yesterday, he issued a letter and memorandum opinion to the probate judges that they do not have to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on February 9 if the stay expires, as is expected.
From The Montgomery Advertiser:
Doubling down on comments made last week, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore Tuesday sent a letter and memorandum to the state’s probate judges, telling them they were not required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples if a recent federal court decision goes into effect.
The chief justice, never shy about sharing his socially conservative viewpoints, wrote that “nothing” in U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade’s decision to strike down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage “requires Alabama probate judges to issue marriage licenses that are illegal in Alabama.”
“Lower federal courts are without authority to impose their own interpretation of federal constitutional law upon the state courts,” wrote Moore in the letter, which he characterized as an “advisory” opinion. “Furthermore, they have absolutely no legitimate authority to compel state courts to redefine marriage to includes persons of the same sex.”
In the meantime, the SPLC has filed a second ethics complaint against Chief Justice Moore.
“In 2003, responsible public officials in Alabama had no choice but to remove Chief Justice Moore from office because he refused to comply with a binding federal court order,” said SPLC President Richard Cohen. “By now raising the possibility that he may not comply with a United States Supreme Court decision, Moore has proven that he has not learned his lesson.
“Justice Moore is intoxicated by his own sense of self-righteousness. He doesn’t seem to understand that we’re a nation of laws, not of men.”
Last week, Moore vowed in a letter to Gov. Robert Bentley to “stop judicial tyranny” following the federal judge’s ruling. The judge’s order overturning the ban is on hold until Feb. 9, but Moore’s letter encouraged probate judges to disobey it once it goes into effect. Today, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the state’s request to extend the stay pending appeal. The plaintiffs have asked Judge Granade to lift the stay immediately. If she does, marriages could begin today.
“Now that the 11th Circuit has refused to grant a stay, it is incumbent on the Judicial Inquiry Commission to move quickly so the state can avoid the confrontation with the federal courts that Justice Moore has been inviting,” said Cohen.
In addition, the Eleventh Circuit has put the Florida, Georgia, and any other marriage equality cases presented to the Court on hold until the SCOTUS rules on the marriage equality cases before it.