Citing Ruth Bader Ginsburg's recent interview where she said the U.S. is more or less ready for nationwide marriage equality, National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown is now demanding the Supreme Court justice recuse herself from the upcoming gay marriage cases or face a congressional investigation.
Via press release:
Federal law (28 US Code Sec. 455) requires federal judges to disqualify themselves "in any proceeding in which [her] impartiality might reasonably be questioned."
"Justice Ginsburg has made it crystal clear that she is going to rule in favor of redefining marriage when these cases come before her," Brown said. "We demand that she comply with federal law and disqualify herself as she is required to do. If she refuses, we will ask Congress to act."
Ginsburg's highly inappropriate media commentary is being used by advocates for same-sex marriage who also see it as a foreshadowing of her ruling. The Human Rights Campaign called her comments "taking a bold stand for progress and equality, stating that the country is ready for marriage equality." They are using her comments to recruit signers to a brief they plan to submit to the Court.
"The impartiality of judges is the very foundation of our legal system" said Brown. "When you have a situation where a judge has already decided how to rule on a pending case before it is even presented or argued, the integrity of the judicial system is called into question. This goes way beyond the issue of same-sex marriage and cuts to the heart of whether our federal judiciary can be trusted to fairly consider and adjudicate important issues. Ginsburg comments suggest they cannot."
Last month, the American Family Association called on both Ginsburg and fellow Justice Elena Kagan to recuse themselves from the gay marriage cases because both have officiated at same-sex weddings in the past.
