Update: Justice of the Peace Quits

A quick update to this post: Justice of the Peace may be racist.

Bardwell has finally resigned his office.  According to CNBC:

Keith Bardwell quit with a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne: "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009."

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said that this was long overdue, and I must say that I kind of agree with him.  Bardwell’s refusal to apologize and refusal to step down has been a travesty for the administration of justice. 

I don’t think you can have someone in office as a Justice of the Peace who openly discriminates against those of other races.  It simply does not allow for faith in the justice system.  And yes, I obviously understand the role JoP’s play, but being part of the greater legal establishment does impose a certain obligation upon them.

Now, the couple in question has filed a federal lawsuit against Bardwell.  Now I don’t think that’s necessary in a case like this, when the ‘justice’ has already been served by his removal from office.  The damage was minimal, as the couple was referred to someone who would perform the ceremony and not rejected outright.  But we will see how it goes.

[Source: MSNBC]

Justice of the Peace may be racist

In what has to be one of the most absurd and unacceptable decisions by a legal system, Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell has denied an interracial couple a marriage license.

Why?

Because:

he had discussed the topic with blacks and whites. “There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage,” Mr. Bardwell said. “I think those children suffer, and I won’t help put them through it.”

Despite how ridiculous that sounds, he goes on to say this:

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell said.
"I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else." [emphasis added]

There have been calls from everyone, including the Governor of Louisiana (the infamous Bobby Jindal) to have Justice Bardwell removed from office.  He is, technically, an elected official, so this is not as simple as it may seem. 

Besides the obvious racism and the unnecessary proselytizing, there is an argument to be made that Justice Bardwell may have broken state law by refusing to conduct a marriage without reason to doubt capacity to enter into this contract.  Essentially, by refusing on prohibited grounds.

Listen to Bardwell’s response below:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Further, it seems that Louisiana's law may be interpreted in a way favourable to Bardwell, according to CNN.

A state statute says justices of the peace may perform marriage ceremonies, but it does not require such officials to do so, Tammi Arender, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana attorney general, told CNN on Monday.

However, the Louisiana Supreme Court does have the ability to remove him from office if they deem it appropriate.  In this case, I sure hope they do.

[Source: CNN, LA Times, NYT]