Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge says whether gay marriage is legal in the state should be decided by the current state Supreme Court, not the justices who heard oral arguments in the case last year.
Rutledge said in a motion filed Monday that a retired state Supreme Court justice and a special justice appointed to the case should not participate in the proceedings since both spots on the court have been replaced. The court said the dispute over who should participate in the appeal must be addressed before it decides whether gay marriage should be legal.
A Pulaski County judge last year struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, and more than 500 gay couples were issued marriage licenses before justices suspended the ruling while they considered the appeal.
