Wyoming judge can’t refuse to marry gay couples, group says
Source: Casper Star-Tribune; Wyoming News.com
Wyoming judge can’t refuse to marry gay couples, group says
By Lillian Schrock, Casper Star-Tribune 5 hrs ago
CASPER - A Pinedale magistrate’s constitutional rights to free speech and religious freedom do not allow her to refuse to marry gay couples, the Wyoming judicial ethics commission argues in a brief filed before the state Supreme Court. ... The Wyoming Supreme Court will decide if Pinedale municipal judge and circuit court magistrate Ruth Neely should be removed from her position.
Neely’s constitutional rights do not “exempt her from complying with the Wyoming Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits such conduct by a judge and to which she swore her oath to abide by as a judicial officer for the State of Wyoming,” the Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics wrote in a brief filed Wednesday.
The brief comes in response to a document filed by Neely in April in which she fought the judicial ethics commission’s recommendation to remove her from office. Neely is being represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group.
Neely’s attorneys argued the Commission’s actions violate her rights to free speech and free exercise of religion. They further asserted Neely has discretion when exercising her authority to perform marriages and that she could turn away a couple for any number of reasons. ... The attorneys noted Neely has not been asked to perform a same-sex marriage, and that she has been suspended from her role as a magistrate and is not currently performing marriages.
Read more: http://www.wyomingnews.com/news/wyoming-judge-can-t-refuse-to-marry-gay-couples-group/article_0be13aa4-36a2-11e6-a656-1b28abf8c224.html
The headline "Wyoming judge can’t refuse to marry gay couples, group says " is a little deceptive. There has been no ruling on this. The headline merely reflects the argument being made by the Wyoming judicial ethics commission.
My point is that Obergefell is a year old this week, and yet I keep reading the same old story. SMH.
More accurate, but 19 hours old:
Lillian Schrock 307-266-0574, Lillian.Schrock@trib.com
19 hrs ago
A Pinedale magistrate’s constitutional rights to free speech and religious freedom do not allow her to refuse to marry gay couples, the Wyoming judicial ethics commission argues in a brief filed before the state Supreme Court.
The Wyoming Supreme Court will decide if Pinedale municipal judge and circuit court magistrate Ruth Neely should be removed from her position.
Neely’s constitutional rights do not “exempt her from complying with the Wyoming Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits such conduct by a judge and to which she swore her oath to abide by as a judicial officer for the State of Wyoming,” the Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics wrote in a brief filed Wednesday.
The brief comes in response to a document filed by Neely in April in which she fought the judicial ethics commission’s recommendation to remove her from office. Neely is being represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group.
....
Follow crime and courts reporter Lillian Schrock on Twitter @lillieschrock.
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