Midland County judge halts wedding ceremonies, others step in

When a Midland County district court judge announced that he would stop performing weddings at the courthouse near Saginaw, other judges responded by declaring that marriages would indeed go on.

The decisions mean that after a few slightly confusing days, all couples could still get married--but that judge Michael Carpenter would simply not participate.

The confusion began brewing after Carpenter was quoted by the Midland Daily News that he had reviewed the Supreme Court's marriage decision, and that state law did not actually require him to perform weddings.

"Anything we don't have to do, we're not going to do," he told the newspaper.

He also chalked up his decision to a staff shortage. "We just don't have the staffing and the time," he added.

Carpenter's comments come just days after the Supreme Court's historic decision on same-sex marriage, and follows other local officials across the country who have reacted to the decision by slowing or bowing out of the marriage process. For example, attorney generals in Louisiana and Mississippi briefly ordered their states to delay the issuing of same-sex marriage licenses.

Carpenter never directly addressed his own personal stance on same-sex marriage, or whether that view was a factor in his decision. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

But his decision briefly gave the appearance that the 150 or so couples who get married in Midland County each year would have to go through the clerk's office instead.

The county's clerk, Ann Manary, said Wednesday that her office wasn't used to handling all those weddings, but that she would be doing her best.

"I'm performing as many weddings as I can," she said. She already had five scheduled for the next two weeks, and noted that June and July were the busy months for weddings.

But on Wednesday night, three other Midland County judges released a statement declaring that all marriages would still go on at the courthouse. Two of those judges don't normally handle weddings, but they will be granted permission to carry them out, said John Nevin, spokesman for the Michigan Supreme Court.

"Weddings are a source of great joy and hope for the future, and our court is honored to help families grow and prosper in our community," judges Stephen Carras, Michael Beale and Dorene Allen wrote in the letter. Carras is the Chief Judge of the county's trial courts, while Beale is a judge in the 42nd District Court and Allen is a judge in Midland's probate and civil court.

The statement does not mention Carpenter.

Contact Daniel Bethencourt: dbethencourt@freepress.com.