Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice-elect Maggie Ellis has announced plans to overturn a rule protecting judges who decline to officiate same-sex weddings because of their religious beliefs.
Ellis, an openly LGBTQ+ Democrat who defeated Republican Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock in last week’s election, told The Dallas Morning News that she intends to seek support from fellow justices to revise the court’s policy allowing judges to refuse marriage ceremonies that conflict with their sincerely held religious convictions.
The provision, adopted in October 2025 as part of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct, states: “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.”
“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,” Ellis said, describing the existing accommodation as “back-door discrimination.”
Any change would require cooperation from Republican members of the court. Although Democrats captured all four Texas Supreme Court seats contested in the election, Republicans will retain a 5-4 majority when Ellis takes office in January 2027.
The religious accommodation followed a legal controversy involving Dianne Hensley, a Christian justice of the peace in Waco who declined to conduct same-sex weddings, citing her faith. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct sanctioned Hensley for alleged violations of judicial ethics rules, despite receiving no public complaints about her conduct.
In January, the Texas Supreme Court determined in a separate case that the commission lacked authority to punish judges for declining to officiate same-sex marriages on religious or moral grounds. A Travis County district court subsequently awarded Hensley $10,000 in damages and more than $630,000 in attorneys’ fees in June.
First Liberty Institute, the religious liberty organization that represented Hensley, criticized Ellis’ proposed policy change and indicated it would continue defending judges who face challenges over religious objections to performing marriage ceremonies.
“It’s sad that an incoming Justice’s first public statement is one against religious freedom. We’ve won in litigation on this very issue,” said Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO and chief counsel for First Liberty Institute in a press release. “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. First Liberty stands ready to defend any judge affected by this policy.”
Ellis will become the first woman to serve as chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court and the first “openly queer” woman elected to statewide office in Texas.
