Wyoming
Related: About this forumCourt Decides to Censure, Not Remove Anti-Gay Marriage Judge
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) A small-town judge who says her religious beliefs prevent her from presiding over same-sex marriages was publicly censured by the Wyoming Supreme Court on Tuesday.
But while the court said her conduct undermines the integrity of the judicial system, it does not warrant removal from the bench. In a 3-2 decision, Justice Kate Fox wrote that Judge Ruth Neely violated judicial conduct code but removing Neely would "unnecessarily circumscribe protected expression."
"Judge Neely shall either perform no marriage ceremonies or she shall perform marriage ceremonies regardless of the couple's sexual orientation," Fox wrote.
Neely has never been asked to perform a same-sex marriage, and Fox said that the case was not about same-sex marriage or the reasonableness of religious beliefs.
Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wyoming/articles/2017-03-07/supreme-court-decides-to-censure-but-not-remove-judge
Rhiannon12866
(222,465 posts)TexasTowelie
(116,873 posts)but the judge either has to stop discriminating and marry same sex couples or stop marrying anyone at all. Considering that most of the duties for the judge involve marriage ceremonies it seems like there is no need for her and she should be removed at the next election.
Rhiannon12866
(222,465 posts)I was also thinking of that Kim Davis in Kentucky. That was so messed up on so many levels - and it took them ages to resolve it!
And I wondered if they were related:
In Neely's case, the dissenting justices argued that Neely didn't violate any judicial conduct code. "Wyoming law does not require any judge or magistrate to perform any particular marriage, and couples seeking to be married have no right to insist on a particular official as the officiant of their wedding," Justice Keith Kautz wrote in the dissent that was joined by Justice Michael K. Davis.