Michigan district court stops performing marriages in the wake of gay-marriage decision
Michael Carpenter, who is the only judge sitting in the Midland County District Court in Michigan, announced Monday that his court would no longer perform marriages, the Midland Daily News reports.
The decision follows Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage violate the Constitution.
“Our district court is no longer performing marriages. I’m not sure exactly what he’s thinking there,” Midland County Clerk Ann Manary told MLive.com.
Couples who want to be married by government officials in Midland County can still do so with circuit court judges and mayors, says John Nevin, the Michigan Supreme Court communications director. Also, Manary told MLive that she has been performing marriages in her position as clerk, and had issued several marriage licenses to same-sex couples since Friday.
Carpenter, a former prosecutor who was appointed to the bench, told the Daily News that he’s been making various changes at the court, which also has one magistrate, Gerald J. Ladwig.
“When the decision came down from the Supreme Court Friday, I read through the case and then read through the statutes of what the court is required to do,” he said, adding that gay marriage “is an issue that is near and dear to both sides’ hearts. The district court can, but is not required, to do marriages. (The statute) says may, not shall.”
Carpenter framed his decision as being motivated by budget concerns. The district court used to have two judges, as well as a magistrate, the Daily News reports.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t be married in the courthouse. We’re just not going to provide the services,” Carpenter said. “We just don’t have the staffing and the time.”
Nelson Tebbe, a Brooklyn Law School professor whose work focuses on the relationship between religious traditions and constitutional law, told the ABA Journal that Carpenter’s decision seems to signal disapproval of marriage equality.
“My own view is that a public official may not decline to process same-sex marriages in the wake of the Obergefell decision without violating professional ethics and the Constitution,” Tebbe said. “Harm may be reduced if the official stops processing all weddings, and if another court remains available. Those arrangements may prevent the most disturbing point-of-service refusals of same-sex couples, but they may be difficult to administer in a seamless way.”
University of Virginia Law School professor Douglas Laycock points out in an email to the ABA Journal that depending on Michigan state law, there may be nothing to prevent Carpenter’s decision. “The first question is whether he has any obligation under Michigan law to do weddings,” he wrote. “The story says he is authorized and permitted; it doesn’t say he has any duty to do so.”
“It sounds like there are still officials immediately available to do weddings, so that no one is harmed,” Laycock added.
The Daily News was unable to find out how many marriages are typically performed at the Midland County District Court.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “County clerks, judges with religious qualms can refuse to issue gay marriage licenses, Texas AG says”
