There are currently two quests for clarification over whether same-sex marriage licenses should be issued statewide in Florida, and one of them has an official day in court.
Judge Sarah Zabel has set a hearing for 11 a.m. Jan. 5 in Miami Dade Circuit Court. The topic at hand is the Miami Clerk’s motion for a clarification about the stay on same-sex marriage.
Federal Judge Robert Hinkle previously declared Florida’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional and said same-sex marriage licenses could start being issued in the state Jan. 6.
However the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers attorneys have twice warned that Hinkle’s ruling only applies in Washington County, and clerks in other counties could face criminal charges if they issue licenses.
Since then, clerks in most Florida counties have either stated that they’ll hold off on issuing licenses until the Association updates their recommendation or a court order clarifies the issue, with exception of Osceola County.
On Dec. 22, Miami Dade Clerk Harvey Ruvin filed a motion requesting the 11th judicial circuit court clarify and expedite the details of the stay’s expiration. The Jan. 5 hearing aims to provide that clarification. Ruvin is the defendant in a lawsuit by the Equality Florida Institute and six same-sex couples fighting for marriage equality.
“The Clerk’s Motion specifically asks Judge Zabel to clarify whether the stay that she issued in the Miami-Dade case would apply to the Miami-Dade Clerk to prevent him from issuing licenses beginning January 6, even though Judge Hinkle has lifted his stay in the federal case effective Jan 6, and presuming that same-sex marriage licenses will begin to be issued in all other counties on Jan 6,” said Mary Meeks, an attorney who is part of the pro-equality legal team in the case. “Judge Zabel could also comment on the greater issue of whether Judge Hinkle’s ruling applies only to the Washington County Clerk or to all 67 clerks, although hopefully Judge Hinkle himself will have resolved that issue by the time of the Miami hearing.”
This hearing is separate from another push for clarification on the hearing, stemming from Hinkle himself. On Dec. 24, he filed an order asking the parties involved state their positions on whether marriage licenses should be issued Jan. 6. The deadline for those statements is midnight Dec. 29. Hinkle could make a final ruling any time after that.
