Alabama Chief Judge of State Courts Orders End To Same Sex Marriages

Alabama State Court Chief Justice Roy Moore

[From article]
Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an order today 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.
Moore said he issued the order today in his role as administrative head of the state court system. He quoted a state law that says the chief justice is empowered to "take affirmative and appropriate action to correct or alleviate any condition or situation adversely affecting the administration of justice within the state."
[. . .]
Moore, in his order today, says the Alabama Supreme Court continues to deliberate on how the U.S. Supreme Court ruling affects the state court's orders from March.
Moore said rulings by federal courts since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling could affect the issue in Alabama.
Moore said the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court case invalidated only the same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.
And he said the U.S. District Court in Kansas found that although the U.S. Supreme Court ruling "is clearly controlling Supreme Court precedent, it did not directly strike down the provisions of the Kansas Constitution and statutes that bar the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses."

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/01/roy_moore_says_probate_judges.html

Roy Moore says probate judges have duty to enforce same-sex marriage ban
By Mike Cason | mcason (at) al.com
on January 06, 2016 at 12:09 PM, updated January 06, 2016 at 7:00 PM