Roy Moore asks judge to dismiss suit accusing him of violating her gay marriage order

March 19, 2015

Alabama Local News Reports:

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit accusing him of violating her order striking down the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

Calling that allegation "manifestly false," Moore's lawyers cite a number of grounds, including that the issue is moot because the eight couples who sued got marriage licenses during the brief window in which Mobile County's probate judge was issuing them in February.

Attorneys Douglas McElvy and Herbert Titus also contend in a court filing Tuesday that the chief justice's only action in the controversy was to issue an administrative order explaining why probate judges were not bound by U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. "Ginny" Granade's Jan. 23 ruling.

While Granade ruled on the constitutionality of the same-sex marriage ban, she did not issue an order to Alabama probate judges, McElvy and Titus argue. They also contend that only the U.S. Supreme Court and a federal appeals court can make binding legal interpretations. While those courts allowed Granade's ruling to take effect, neither court has ruled directly on the issue.

"The Chief Justice's careful and correct analysis of this Court's orders obviously does not constitute 'refusal to comply with this Court's orders,' much less 'willful refusal,'" the document states.

"Any action this Court might take in relation to the Administrative Order, therefore, would, at this juncture, be futile and meaningless," the filing states.

Moore's lawyers also claim various forms of immunity in arguing that monetary damages cannot be awarded.