A county judge in Jack County, Texas has filed suit in a Texas federal district court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent any future enforcement action by the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct against him. The complaint (
full text) in
Umphress v. Hall, (ND TX, filed 3/18/2020) alleges in part:
A few months ago, the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued a “public warning” to Dianne Hensley, a justice of the peace who recuses herself from officiating at same-sex marriage ceremonies on account of her Christian faith.... The Commission’s interpretation of Canon 4A(1) threatens every judge in Texas who refuses to perform same-sex marriages, as well as those who publicly evince disapproval of same-sex marriage or homosexual conduct in their extra-judicial activities.....
The Court should therefore declare that the First Amendment protects Judge Umphress’s right to conduct his extra-judicial activities in a manner that evinces disapproval of same-sex marriage and homosexual conduct.
Pink News reports on the lawsuit.
