It seems that Chief Justice Roy Moore in fact did succeed in influencing most probate judges in Alabama not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Only about a dozen or so counties/probate judges are doing so (it's difficult to find precise numbers on this at the moment as the situation is liquid and in flux). Probate judges in most of the urban areas (major cities) are issuing marriage licenses, although Mobile is a big exception. And, NCLR has filed an amended complaint for one set of the plaintiffs; and included the probate judge in Mobile, the Governor, and Chief Justice Roy Moore as additional defendants. That should be quite interesting, to say the least.
From JMG:
Most of the counties contacted by AL.com this morning have suspended issuing all marriage licenses in the wake of conflicting rulings from a federal judge and the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. The majority of counties across the state have either suspended the issuance of all marriage licenses or are only accepting applications. Probate judges have said it is the best compromise for the moment, until they determine which order to follow. Other probate judges have said that they may change their policies within hours or days. Counties colored red are not issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Those colored green are issuing licenses to all couples. Those shaded in yellow are not issuing any marriage licenses and those colored orange are only accepting applications, but issuing no licenses.
Here is another graphic from the Washington Post:
And, from
Box Turtle Bulletin:
But, unlike in Florida, probate judges have decided that (in the words of Washington County Probate Judge Nick Williams) they “aren’t worried about following the U.S. Constitution.”
So they are playing the “my name isn’t on that order” game. Being elected politicians in a state that does not value the Equal Protections clause of the Constitution, they are seeking to gain election value by defying the nation’s guiding document. And damn the cost (or inconvenience to them homosexuals)!
Here is NCLR's amended complaint:
Update: NCLR's motion has been granted and a hearing set for February 12.
By including these additional defendants, NCLR can file contempt charges against them if they continue to block the Court's order from taking effect.
Justice Moore issued a statement to NBC News earlier:
"The U.S. district courts have no power or authority to redefine marriage. Once you start redefining marriage, that's the ultimate power. Would it overturn the laws of incest? Bigamy? Polygamy? How far do they go? A lot of states in this union have caved to such unlawful authority, and this is not one This is Alabama. We don't give up the recognition that law has bounds. I disagree with standing in the schoolhouse door to prevent blacks from getting equal education. We're talking about a constitutional amendment to preserve the recognition that marriage is one man and one woman, as it has been for centuries." - Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, speaking this afternoon to NBC News.
via
JMG
Rachel Maddow's Report (from last night):
A heterosexual couple turned away in Mobile:
(via Good As You)
UPDATE 1:
Lambda Legal has written a letter to the President of the Alabama Probate Judges Association as well as all the probate judges who are not issuing licenses to explain that Justice Moore did not have the authority to issue the administrative order that he did (ordering the probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples).
From that letter:
“The source of a chief justice’s authority to issue such administrative orders is the Alabama Supreme Court itself, and the Alabama Supreme Court has made explicitly clear that the actions taken by Chief Justice Moore on February 8th are not within his authority acting alone. James, a case involving Chief Justice Moore himself (then a Circuit Judge), dealt in part with the authority of the Chief Justice to control the conduct of a circuit judge. In that case, the Alabama Supreme Court made clear that the conduct of a circuit judge “cannot be regulated by the Chief Justice, ‘standing alone.’” The Court further held that “action by the Chief Justice is not synonymous with action by the ‘Court’” and that it is a basic “principle of practice and procedure, no appellate pronouncement becomes binding on inferior courts unless it has the concurrence of a majority of the Judges or Justices qualified to decide the cause.” Accordingly, Chief Justice Moore does not have the authority to issue the Administrative Order issued on February 8, 2015.”
UPDATE 2:
UPDATE 3:
Roy Moore on Bloomberg Politics: