Texas Chief Justice-Elect Maggie Ellis Wants to End the Religious Accommodation for Judges Who Decline Same-Sex Weddings
Maggie Ellis, who defeated Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock last week, said she will work with the other justices to change the 2025 rule that lets a judge publicly refrain from a wedding ceremony over a sincerely held religious belief — a change that would need Republican votes on a court her party does not control.
AUSTIN — The incoming chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court says one of her first aims is to undo a rule the court adopted last year. Chief Justice-elect Maggie Ellis, a Democrat who defeated Republican Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock in last week's election, told The Dallas Morning News she wants to work with the other justices to change the court's existing rule, which allows a judge to publicly refrain from performing a marriage that conflicts with his or her sincerely held religious beliefs, The Christian Post reported Tuesday.
The rule, changed in October 2025, amended the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct to read: “It is not a violation of these canons for a judge to publicly refrain from performing a wedding ceremony based upon a sincerely held religious belief.” Ellis described the change in personal terms: “One thing I'd like to do is work with the other justices to amend these orders to say either you perform all marriages, or none,” she said, calling the rule “back-door discrimination” and adding, “It's really the wrong direction for our Supreme Court.”
The votes for the change are not hers to command. Despite Democrats winning all four Supreme Court seats on this year's ballot, Republicans will keep a 5-4 majority on the high court when Ellis is sworn in in January 2027, so a rule change needs support from Republican justices, the report noted.
The rule grew out of the dispute over Waco Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley, who was sanctioned by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct after declining same-sex ceremonies. In January, the Texas Supreme Court ruled the commission has no authority to discipline judges who decline for moral or religious reasons, and in June a Travis County district court awarded Hensley $10,000 in damages and more than $630,000 in attorneys' fees. First Liberty Institute, which represented Hensley, answered Ellis's comments directly: “Religious freedom and accommodation are fundamental rights rooted in the history and tradition of America. The new Chief Justice is off to a regrettable start,” said its president, Kelly Shackelford. Ellis is the first woman elected to lead the Texas Supreme Court and the first openly queer woman to win a statewide election in Texas.
