I’ve had a busy month standing up for authentic marriage and the natural family, publishing a series of essays (linked below) and working in coalition with other pro-family leaders on the Restrain the Judges Project under the leadership of Dr. Steve Holze of Conservative Republicans of Texas and project initiator (and human dynamo) Janet Porter of Faith2Action.
On Monday the 27th, our coalition held a press conference on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC that a drew a lot of media and a large crowd of observers.
My comments at the press conference were related to a Motion for Recusal drafted by attorneys for Dr. Holze that are expected to be filed soon by one or more parties. Contrary to news reports I did not personally draft the Motion nor will I be filing it myself because I have no standing in the case to do so. However I fully support the Motion and recusal has been my personal emphasis in the national public debate regarding the so-called “gay marriage” cases before the court. Since February I have been publicly insisting that Justices Ginsberg and Kagan have an ethical duty to recuse themselves because they have each officiated at homosexual “wedding” ceremonies, in Ginsberg’s case at the Supreme Court itself.
My comments on recusal led the news story by The Hill, one of the most read and respected media outlets inside the Beltway.
http://thehill.com/regulation/240163-religious-leaders-want-justices-restrained-from-ruling-on-same-sex-marriage
Following is my two-minute commentary which I delivered at the press conference:
RESTRAIN THE JUDGES PRESS CONFERENCE
COMMENTS OF DR. SCOTT LIVELY ON THE STEPS OF THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, APRIL 27, 2015
A motion will shortly be filed with the Supreme Court calling for the recusal of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Justice Elena Kagan.
Impartiality is the bedrock principle of judicial ethics that has been painstaking preserved throughout the history of this court.
Justices Ginsberg and Kagan, knowing full well that unique legal issues regarding the definition of marriage would soon come before them, deliberately officiated at so-called homosexual wedding ceremonies, creating not merely the appearance of bias, but an actual and blatant conflict of interest.
Indeed, in my personal view they have committed an unparalleled breach of judicial ethics by elevating the importance of their own favored political cause of “gay rights” above the integrity of the court and our nation.
Quoting now from the Motion:
“Due process requires a neutral and detached judge. A hearing before a biased judge is structural error that is not subject to harmless error analysis. See Tumey v. Ohio 273 U.S. 510, 535 (1927) (noting that every litigant has ‘the right to have an impartial judge’). Justices Ginsberg and Kagan have personally and publicly engaged in extrajudicial conduct that dramatically endorses the legal recognition that petitioners seek to have nationalized in these cases. Their vividly demonstrated favorable disposition towards the petitioners ‘is so extreme as to display clear inability to render fair judgment’ Liteky v. United States, 510 U.S. 540, 551 (1994).”
There are three possible remedies for this ethical breach:
1. The first and best is the voluntary recusal of the Justices themselves, following the example of Justices Bryer, Scalia and Thomas in prior cases.
2. Involuntary recusal by order of this court.
3. Removal of jurisdiction over marriage from the court by the United States Congress pursuant to its authority under Article 3, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.
Marriage is not the creation of secular government, it is the ordinance of Almighty God to whom the Supreme Court, the Congress and even our President are accountable. This coalition calls on all branches of our government to acknowledge this fact and Restrain the Judges from redefining marriage.
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On the evening of the 27th I appeared on the Alan Colmes show to discuss my article “Time for the Pitchforks and Torches on Marriage Issue,” which was actually an appeal to liberals and progressives to change their position on “gay rights” and join conservatives in working to protect the natural family, which I argue is “the eco-system of humanity” while same-sex unions are artificial and counterfeit alternatives equivalent to artificial vs. natural foods and artificial vs. natural medicines. It was my best-ever debate/conversation with Alan of several appearances over the past few years.
On the 28th, Anne and I joined the crowd at the courthouse briefly to take some pictures and again pray for divine intervention, before driving home last night.
It’s all in God’s hands.
Blessings,
Dr. Scott Lively
PS. Please consider donating here http://www.defendthefamily.com/help/donate.php to help us cover our extensive and growing travel costs.
Lively Renews Demand for Immediate Recusal of Justices Ginsberg and Kagan
