Searcy v.

Alabama
The Strange Case of Chief Justice Roy
Moore and the Alabama Probate Judges
George W. Conk
Adjunct Professor of Law & Senior Fellow, Stein Center for Law & Ethics
Room 409
gconk@law.fordham.edu
212-636-7446
Torts Today: http://tortstoday.blogspot.com
Otherwise Commentaries on Law, Language & Politics
Blackstonetoday.blogspot.com

Alabama - Judgessin Contempt

In Re Little (U.S. 1972)

"The vehemence of the language

used is not alone the measure of the
power to punish for contempt. The
fires which it kindles must constitute
an imminent, not merely a likely,
threat to the administration of
justice. The danger must not be
remote or even probable; it must
immediately imperil . . . .

Alabama - Judges in Contempt

Searcy v. Strange (January 23, 2015)

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that ALA.

CONST. ART. I, 36.03 (2006) and
ALA. CODE 1975 30-1-19 are
unconstitutional because they violate
they Due Process Clause and the
Equal Protection Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment. IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED that the
defendant is enjoined from enforcing
those laws.
Alabama - Judges in Contempt

Alabama Constitution
Sanctity of Marriage Amendment
(c) Marriage is a sacred covenant,
solemnized between a man and a
woman, which, when the legal
capacity and consent of both parties
is present, establishes their
relationship as husband and wife,
and which is recognized by the state
as a civil contract.
(d) No marriage license shall be
issued in the State of Alabama to
parties of the same sex
Alabama - Judges in Contempt

Motion to hold Probate Judge

Davis in Contempt, etc.
On this date, at 10:10 a.m. CST,
Honorable Don Davis, Probate Court
Judge in Mobile County, Alabama,
had not opened the marriage license
division of the Mobile County Probate
Court. He has not given a reason nor
stated when he will open the court.

Alabama - Judges in Contempt

Motion to hold Probate Judge

Davis in Contempt, etc.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray this
Honorable Court will immediately
issue an Order declaring the
Honorable Don Davis to be in
contempt, to further order law
enforcement to open the marriage
license division of Mobile County
Probate Court, impose sanctions
against the Honorable Don Davis,
and any such further legal remedies
Alabama - Judges in Contempt

Administrative Order of the Chief Justice of

Alabama, February 9, 2015
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article XVI,
Section 279, of the Constitution of
Alabama, the Probate Judges of
Alabama are bound by oath to
"support the Constitution of the
United States, and the Constitution of
the State of Alabama
WHEREAS, as explained in my Letter
and Memorandum the Probate
Judges of Alabama are not bound by
the orders in the case of Searcy v.
Alabama - Judges in Contempt

Alabama Constitution
Article VI - Section 140

the supreme court shall have

power to issue writs of injunction,
habeas corpus, quo warranto, and
such other remedial and original
writs as may be necessary to give it
a general superintendence and
control of inferior jurisdictions.

Alabama - Judges in Contempt

Strange v. Searcy (Thomas, J.

dissenting)

When courts declare state laws

unconstitutional and enjoin state
officials from enforcing them, our
ordinary practice is to suspend those
injunctions from taking effect
pending appellate review.
Alabama - Judges in Contempt

Strange v. Searcy (Thomas, J.

dissenting)

This is not the proper way to

discharge our Article III
responsibilities. And, it is indecorous
for this Court to pretend that it is.
Todays decision represents yet
another example of this Courts
increasingly cavalier attitude toward
Alabama - Judges in Contempt

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Criteria for issuing a stay

Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 776
(1987)
(1) whether the stay applicant has
made a strong showing that he is
likely to succeed on the merits
(2) whether the applicant will be
irreparably injured absent a stay
(3) whether issuance of the stay will
substantially injure the other parties
interested in the proceeding
(4) where the public interest lies
.
Alabama - Judges in Contempt

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