Interracial Couple Denied Marriage License By Louisiana Judge

Thu Oct 15 19:00:06 PDT 2009

i will not comment on whether this is true or not; will assume it is; it reminds me of a story the Chief Judge of NY once told me.  He was at a meeting of all judges in the state and one local trial judge came up to him and said how much he admired the Chief Judige. The CJ said that this surprised him, since he overruled the trial judge 5 or 6 times a year; the trial judge responded, "that's ok Judge, I overrule your two or three times a month."  Apparently this judge in Louisiana has been "overruling" the Supreme Court whenever he wants. This serves to remind us that the "rule of law" is always constricted by local realities and the ability of parties to appeal legally wrong decisions, which many people will not do.  I am sure it is much easier just to find another judge and get married.

----
Paul Finkelman
President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
Albany Law School
80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY 12208

518-445-3386 (p)
518-445-3363 (f)

paul.finkelman at albanylaw.edu

www.paulfinkelman.com

--- On Thu, 10/15/09, Steven Jamar <stevenjamar at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Steven Jamar <stevenjamar at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Interracial Couple Denied Marriage License By Louisiana Judge
To: "Kathleen Bergin" <kbergin at stcl.edu>
Cc: "CONLAWPROFS professors" <Conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu>
Date: Thursday, October 15, 2009, 9:20 PM

Sorry, my original post query was tongue in cheek -- but I forgot to include the html markings for that.   Surely Loving is moe than sufficient for this.

<tongue-in-cheek> Any thoughts on whether this might violate the Constitutional right of Equal Protection or Substantive Due Process? </tongue-in-cheek> 

But I actually couldn't believe it was really being done!  I thought it was a spoof, but couldn't verify it.

Steve

On Oct 15, 2009, at 8:48 PM, Kathleen Bergin wrote:

Why doesn't Loving coupled with Shelley completely foreclose this issue.

Thanks for calling this to our attention, Steven.  I blogged it here.
http://www.thefacultylounge.org/

Kathleen A. Bergin
South Texas College of Law
1303 San Jacinto Street
Houston, Texas 77003
ph: 713-646-1829
fx: 713-646-1799

First Amendment Law Prof Blog
The Faculty Lounge

----- Original Message -----
From: "Christine Corcos" <Christine.Corcos at law.lsu.edu>
To: "Steven Jamar" <stevenjamar at gmail.com>, "CONLAWPROFS professors" <Conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu>
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 5:50:03 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
Subject: RE: Interracial Couple Denied Marriage License By Louisiana Judge

Um, no, it’s not a myth. See here. The local ACLU is now involved.
http://www.laaclu.org/PDF_documents/Bardwell_Judiciary_Commission_Letter_101509.pdf

From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu [mailto:conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Steven Jamar
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 5:43 PM
To: CONLAWPROFS professors
Subject: Interracial Couple Denied Marriage License By Louisiana Judge

Any thoughts on whether this might violate the Constitutional right of Equal Protection or Substantive Due Process?  Does anyone know if this is real or an internet myth?

Interracial Couple Denied Marriage License By Louisiana Judge

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."
Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.
Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.
"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."
If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.
"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.
Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years.Beth Humphrey, 30, and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.
Humphrey, an account manager for a marketing firm, said she and McKay, a welder, just returned to Louisiana. She plans to enroll in the University of New Orleans to pursue a masters degree in minority politics.
"That was one thing that made this so unbelievable," she said. "It's not something you expect in this day and age."
Humphrey said she called Bardwell on Oct. 6 to inquire about getting a marriage license signed. She says Bardwell's wife told her that Bardwell will not sign marriage licenses for interracial couples. Bardwell suggested the couple go to another justice of the peace in the parish who agreed to marry them.
"We are looking forward to having children," Humphrey said. "And all our friends and co-workers have been very supportive. Except for this, we're typical happy newlyweds."
"It is really astonishing and disappointing to see this come up in 2009," said American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana attorney Katie Schwartzmann. "The Supreme Court ruled as far back as 1963 that the government cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry."
The ACLU sent a letter to the Louisiana Judiciary Committee, which oversees the state justices of the peace, asking them to investigate Bardwell and recommending "the most severe sanctions available, because such blatant bigotry poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the administration of justice."
"He knew he was breaking the law, but continued to do it," Schwartzmann said.
According to the clerk of court's office, application for a marriage license must be made three days before the ceremony because there is a 72-hour waiting period. The applicants are asked if they have previously been married. If so, they must show how the marriage ended, such as divorce.
Other than that, all they need is a birth certificate and Social Security card.
The license fee is $35, and the license must be signed by a Louisiana minister, justice of the peace or judge. The original is returned to the clerk's office.
"I've been a justice of the peace for 34 years and I don't think I've mistreated anybody," Bardwell said. "I've made some mistakes, but you have too. I didn't tell this couple they couldn't get married. I just told them I wouldn't do it."

-- 
Prof. Steven Jamar
Howard University School of Law
Associate Director, Institute of Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ) Inc.
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-- 
Prof. Steven D. Jamar                     vox:  202-806-8017
Associate Director, Institute of Intellectual Property and Social Justice http://iipsj.org
Howard University School of Law           fax:  202-806-8567
http://iipsj.com/SDJ/

"The only things truly worth doing cannot be accomplished in a single lifetime."

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