[JURIST] Judge Callie Granade of the US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama [official website] on Monday refused to stay [order] her order to a probate judge that he must begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This new order states that the Probate Court of Mobile County [official website] must comply with her ruling in Strawser v. Strange [text] that the state same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. Granade seems to be dismissing the ruling [JURIST report] of the Alabama Supreme Court [official website], which ordered the probate judges to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

The judicial upheaval regarding same-sex marriage in Alabama [JURIST op-ed] has captivated the nation as the political conflict continues to unfold. Last month the US Supreme Court refused to extend a two-week stay [JURIST report] on Granade’s ruling that held the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment and the Alabama Marriage Protection Act [text] were unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment [text] of the US Constitution. In January the Supreme Court agreed to rule [JURIST report] on same-sex marriage, granting certiorari [order list, PDF] in four cases. The court consolidated appeals from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee after the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld bans [JURIST report] in those states. The court granted one hour and 90 minutes for oral arguments, which will be held April 28 with a decision expected in June.