Judge censured for refusing to marry same-sex couple

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The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has determined that Syracuse City Court Judge K. Felicia Pitts-Davis should be censured for refusing to conduct a same-sex marriage.

Pitts-Davis declined to officiate the scheduled courthouse marriage ceremony on Nov. 16, 2024.

Judge Pitts-Davis agreed to the censure.

The commission found that the judge’s refusal to conduct the same-sex marriage constituted “serious misconduct” that “severely undermined public confidence in her impartiality.”

Judge Pitts-Davis has been a Syracuse City Court judge since 2021. Her current term expires on Dec. 31, 2030.

“Once a judge agrees to exercise the discretionary act of solemnizing lawful marriages, the responsibility should be exercised equitably, without discrimination or the appearance of prejudice against certain couples,” commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian wrote in a news release.

“Regardless of a judge’s personal views, those who choose to be married at the courthouse deserve the unbiased services of the public servants on duty,” he wrote.

“It is most significant that, despite her personal views and her misconduct in November 2024, and in deference to the mandate that judicial duties come first, Judge Pitts-Davis has pledged to perform same-sex marriages when on duty in the future if no other judge is available,” he wrote.