[Magdalen] Please help me understand

[Charles Wohlers]

Judges in Alabama is elected, and the Chief Justice is looking for votes in 
the next election. He's done this sort of thing before - IIRC, keeping a 
stone Ten Commandments on display at a courthouse in defiance of a Federal 
court ruling.
Basically, it's simple grandstanding, which he loves to do. That sort of 
thing tends to go over well in Alabama.

Chad Wohlers
Woodbury, VT USA
chadwohl at satucket.com


-----Original Message----- 
From: Roger Stokes
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2015 6:10 PM
To: magdalen at herberthouse.org
Subject: [Magdalen] Please help me understand

In January a judge in a federal district court found that the Alabama
ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional but stayed her order to
allow time for an appeal.  I assume this should have been to the 11th
Circuit Appeals Court who could have granted a further stay pending
hearing of an appeal.

The New York Times is now reporting that the Alabama Attorney General
asked the Supreme Court to extend that stay pending SCOTUS determining
the issue later this year but the Supreme Court Justices denied that
request.  I assume this allowed Justice Granade's finding in district
court to take effect and allow same-sex couples to get marriage licenses.

Meanwhile the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court ordered probate
judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples but, following
the SCOTUS refusal to extend the stay, some judges have apparently
issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

I understand that marriage legislation is up to the several states in
their own jurisdictions assuming that this does not conflict with the US
Constitution.  Chief Justice Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court
apparently issued his order before SCOTUS said it would not extend the
stay on Judge Granade's order but has his directive been rendered moot
(ineffective) now that the federal judge's order has become effective?
What is the position of the judges who have issued same-sex marriage
licenses in defiance of Moore's order?

Roger