In news that should surprise absolutely no one, two federal prosecutors confirmed today what most Americans have suspected since 1789—that judges have to abide by the relevant rulings of the US Supreme Court, even when they don't comport with Leviticus. According to AL.com:
Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an order [yesterday] saying that a ruling issued last March by the Alabama Supreme Court remains in effect and that probate judges "have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary" to Alabama's law and constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
In a four-page administrative order, Moore said the conflict between the state court ruling and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June has caused "confusion and uncertainty" among probate judges.
No. No it is not causing confusion and uncertainty. You are on the highest court in Alabama. You are not on the highest court in the United States. If the Supreme Court of the United States rules that gay marriage is a constitutional right for all citizens, they are including citizens of Alabama. Does the 14th Amendment ring a bell to you? Remember learning about that pesky thing called incorporation? Yeah. This is an Equal Protection and Due Process issue, meaning every state—yes, even Alabama—must comply.
According to The Atlantic:
Central to Moore’s reasoning is the assertion that Obergefell only applied to the four states in that case, namely Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. To that end, he cited rulings in other courts that noted this theoretically limited application. “The above cases reflect an elementary principle of federal jurisdiction: a judgment only binds the parties to the case before the court,” Moore wrote.
While that may be technically correct, lower courts generally defer to the Supreme Court’s precedent when reaching decisions in similar cases. Since the Court struck down same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee as unconstitutional, for example, there would be no logical reason for the courts to uphold same-sex marriage bans in the other 46 states.
This is so utterly ridiculous. There is no substantive argument that the Supreme Court only meant for state law to be preempted in only those four states. I know that it’s super complicated to understand that a federal authority supersedes you on this issue, Justice Moore, but maybe you can think back to when you learned this during the FIRST WEEK OF LAW SCHOOL. Meanwhile, some counties have stopped issuing marriage licenses to gay couples in light of yesterday’s order.
Unsurprisingly, federal prosecutors in Alabama have expressed disagreement with Chief Justice Moore's ruling. From AL.com:
"The Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court has issued an administrative order, directing probate judges that they may not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year on marriage equality," according to a statement issued Wednesday night by U.S. Attorneys Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama and Kenyen Brown of the Southern District of Alabama.
"We have grave concerns about this order, which directs Alabama probate judges to disobey the ruling of the Supreme Court," Vance and Brown stated. "Government officials are free to disagree with the law, but not to disobey it. This issue has been decided by the highest court in the land and Alabama must follow that law."
According to the Atlantic, " [s]hortly after the Obergefell decision came down, Moore told a church congregation that the Supreme Court had 'just destroyed the institution of God.'"
Discuss below.