Legislator Wants Judge Impeached for Overturning MD's Same-Sex Marriage Ban
by Bill Fancher
March 20, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A Maryland lawmaker is pushing forward in an effort to impeach a Maryland judge who struck down the state's marriage statute because it did not allow for same-sex marriages.
On January 20, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge M. Brooke Murdock overturned Maryland's 33-year-old same-sex marriage ban, ruling that it is a violation of the State Constitution to deny homosexual couples the numerous protections provided to married heterosexual couples. A number of homosexual and liberal civil liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Equality Maryland, hailed the ruling as a historic step toward the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state.
Traditional marriage proponents, on the other hand, criticized the ruling as a judicial activist attempt to redefine marriage. Spearheading an effort to impeach Judge Murdock is Maryland House Delegate Donald H. Dwyer, Jr. He believes the jurist has overstepped the authority of the courts with this decision and must face the consequences of that action.
"It's a clear violation of Article 8 in the Maryland Declaration of Rights," Dwyer asserts. "There are three independent branches, and not one can intrude on the duty or authority of another. And in this case, clearly, the judge in Baltimore City usurped the authority of the legislature."
In addition, the Maryland House delegate points out, Murdock also ignored warnings from the State Attorney General not to rule on an issue that fell under the jurisdiction of the State Legislature, since any such ruling would violate the State Constitution. "This issue of redefining the institution of marriage was not for the court," Dwyer says. "It was a legislative matter, and to do so was violating the very authority of the legislative body.
A recent Baltimore Sun article notes that the Anne Arundel County Republican delegate has for several years pushed for an amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage; and now, Murdock's ruling has emboldened other Republicans in the General Assembly to push for legislation that would place the question on the ballot this fall.
Meanwhile, Dwyer insists, non-elected judges cannot continue to impose their will on the people with impunity, "and so the court has to be held accountable, and that's what I'm doing." He says lawmakers, as "guardians of the public trust" must call activist courts to account for overturning more than 230 years of legal and historical precedent regarding the definition of marriage.
