Arkansas Supreme Court Issues Stay Halting Marriage Equality

Bad news out of Arkansas today. The Arkansas State Supreme Court issued a stay which suspends a lower court order that had invalidated all legal prohibitions on same-sex marriage in the state. The stay will last through the consideration of the appeal of the lower court ruling and could take up to a year.

At 4:30 p.m. today, with many of the justices at an out-of-state conference, the Arkansas Supreme Court issued a stay of Judge Chris Piazza's ruling last Friday that Arkansas law and constitutional bans on same-sex marriage violated the U.S. Constitution. It was a one-sentence order without any elaboration. Piazza's decision will now go through the appeal process. A record of the lower court case must be prepared. A briefing schedule must be set and probably oral arguments. The court takes a two-month recess each summer. Even with an expedited schedule, it's uncertain if the case can be decided this calendar year, when two of the current justices — Cliff Hoofman and Donald Corbin — will be replaced by Rhonda Wood and the winner of a race between Judge Robin Wynne and Tim Cullen.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God