Texas Chief Justice-elect Maggie Ellis said she wants to change a Texas Supreme Court rule that protects judges who decline to perform weddings that conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs. Ellis, a Democrat, defeated Republican Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock in last week’s election and is set to take office in January 2027.
The rule, adopted in October 2025, amended the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct to state: “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 said she wants to work with the other justices to amend the orders so judges “perform all marriages, or none.” She called the current rule “back-door discrimination.”
Ellis will need support from Republican justices to change the rule. Democrats won all four Texas Supreme Court seats on the ballot, but Republicans will hold a 5-4 majority after Ellis is sworn in.
The dispute grew out of the case of Waco Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley, a Christian judge who said her faith prevents her from officiating same-sex wedding ceremonies. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct sanctioned Hensley, even though there were no public complaints. In January, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in a separate case that the commission lacks authority to discipline judges who decline to perform same-sex weddings for moral or religious reasons. 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, said Ellis’ comments may point to another religious liberty fight for state judges. Religious accommodation is not special treatment. It is a basic protection for public servants whose duties intersect with deep convictions about marriage. The next question is whether a court that recently protected that principle will keep it in place.
