Two federal prosecutors in Alabama say that Alabama probate judges are not free to disobey the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage and deny gay couples marriage licenses, despite an order from Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore.

"The Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court has issued an administrative order, directing probate judges that they may not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year on marriage equality," according to a statement issued Wednesday night by U.S. Attorneys Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama and Kenyen Brown of the Southern District of Alabama.

"We have grave concerns about this order, which directs Alabama probate judges to disobey the ruling of the Supreme Court," Vance and Brown stated. "Government officials are free to disagree with the law, but not to disobey it. This issue has been decided by the highest court in the land and Alabama must follow that law."

Two law professors agreed that the U.S. Supreme Court was clear that its same-sex marriage ruling applied nationwide and probate judges who go against it could find themselves facing lawsuits.

Moore on Wednesday issued an order to state probate judges saying that a ruling issued last March by the Alabama Supreme Court remains in effect and that probate judges "have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary" to Alabama's law and constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore speaks to the congregation of Kimberly Church of God, Sunday, June 28, 2015, in Kimberley, Ala. Moore lashed out at the U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, saying said the decision was against the laws of nature. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

At least a few probate judges have shut down same-sex marriage or all marriage licensing in response to Moore's order. Several others, including Jefferson, Shelby and Montgomery counties, say they are continuing to issue licenses to everyone.

Probate judges said they made their decisions after considering the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last year and an earlier ruling by a federal judge in Mobile that declared Alabama's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. In a 5-4 decision in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges , the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that states are required under the 14th Amendment to issue marriage licenses to people of the same sex and to recognize those marriages from other states.

In his order Moore says the Alabama Supreme Court continues to deliberate on how the U.S. Supreme Court ruling affects its orders from March.

Moore cited a portion of an Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in a case. "The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently ruled that Obergefell did not directly invalidate the marriage laws of states under its jurisdiction. While applying Obergefell as precedent, the Eighth Circuit rejected the Nebraska defendants' suggestion that Obergefell mooted the case."

The ruling in Obergefell addressed laws in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee, which fall within the jurisdiction of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Moore stated in his order.

Confusion and uncertainty exist among Alabama probate judges as to the effect of Obergefell on the Alabama Supreme Court's existing order from March - before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Moore states in his order.

Some probate judges are issuing marriage licenses only to couples of the opposite gender or have ceased issuing all marriage licenses, Moore states in his order. "This disparity affects the administration of justice in this State," he wrote.

Two law professors questioned Moore's legal reasoning.

"I think he's wrong," Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law.

"When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling it covered the nation, which includes Alabama," Tobias said. "It was a national ruling and it applies nationally."

The last big controversy since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June was Kentucky clerk Kim Davis' refusal to issue the licenses, which resulted in her serving a short jail term, Tobias said. But it seems almost everywhere else has been in full compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, he said.

Tobias said he doesn't think the 8th Circuit ruling supports what Moore is saying.

University of Alabama Law Professor Ron Krotoszynski, Jr. said the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states must issue the marriage licenses to same-sex couples. "They could not have stated the rule any more clearly," he said

While the Alabama Supreme Court hasn't removed its March injunction to the probate judges the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell "overrules both the reasoning and result" of the Alabama order, Krotoszynski said.

Moore's order is no different than former Alabama Gov. George Wallace telling boards of education in the state more than a half century ago to maintain segregation in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v Board of Education, Krotoszynski said. "Wallace's order didn't trump the Supreme Court then and I don't think Moore's order is going to trump the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell," he said.

Moore's order provides no plausible cover for probate judges around Alabama, Krotoszynski said. "Politics is not law," he said.

Judges who disregard the U.S. Supreme Court ruling could find themselves facing lawsuits and ultimately the probate offices would have to pay attorney's fees and court costs, which can be considerable, Krotoszynski said.

Moore has gotten support for his ruling.

Jay Hinton, an attorney for Washington County Probate Judge Nick Williams who has fought against having to issue same-sex marriage licenses, said he believes it is within Moore's rights as Chief Justice to issue such an order.

Under the Alabama Constitution probate courts are under the auspices of the judiciary, Hinton said. "I think as a general rule anytime your immediate boss tells you what to do, you ought to do it," Hinton said.

Alabama is within the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which hasn't ruled on the issue, Hinton noted. "The 11th Circuit has not applied it (the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell ruling) in our circuit," he said.

In a statement from Williams on Wednesday he wrote that states, not the federal courts, are the ones that manage marriage, divorce and child custody issues and should be the ones that define marriage.

"Federal courts lack the 'judicial expertise' possessed by state courts 'because of the special proficiency developed by state tribunals over the past century and a half' in marriage/divorce/child custody type matters. He hopes that the Alabama Supreme Court will soon reaffirm the authority of Alabama's Constitution over marriage and will rule consistent with the limits of federal jurisdiction over these matters."

Eric Johnston, an attorney for the Alabama Policy Institute which filed the petition that resulted in the Alabama Supreme Court's orders in March, said he agrees with Moore that there has been confusion. He said there is a need to hold off the same-sex licensing while awaiting an Alabama Supreme Court order that either agrees that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling or defies it.

If the Alabama Supreme Court issues an order that disagrees with the Obergefell order then the state court could appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, Johnston said.

Johnston also agrees with Moore that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell does not address Alabama. "Does the Alabama Supreme court have to follow the U.S. Supreme Court when it ruled on a law in another state?," he said.

Moore, in his order, cites an update Johnston wrote in December for the Southeast Law Institute.

"To answer all the questions, we must await the decision of the Alabama Supreme Court," Johnston wrote. "We are encouraging all of those who have great concern over this issue to be prayerfully patient in hopes for the right outcome.

Sanctity of Marriage Alabama also issued a statement of support for Moore's ruling.

Sanctity of Marriage Alabama applauds Chief Justice Roy Moore for doing his job and clarifying what is, in fact, the... Posted by Sanctity of Marriage Alabama on Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Krotoszynski said Moore's order also could have one unintended effect involving an Alabama lesbian adoption case.

That case involves an Alabama Supreme Court order in September that declared void a woman's adoption in a Georgia court of three children she and her lesbian partner had through artificial insemination. The Alabama Supreme Court found that Alabama did not have to recognize the adoption by the woman - V.L. - of her partner's biological children because it found the Georgia court didn't properly apply Georgia law regarding second-parent adoptions.

The U.S. Supreme Court in December blocked, at least temporarily, the adoption ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court while they decide whether to review the Alabama mother's appeal. The order also gave the mother visitation rights to see her adopted children while the court decides to hear her case or until there is a decision.

Moore's order could push the U.S. Supreme Court toward taking on the appeal of an Alabama Supreme Court lesbian adoption ruling, Krotoszynski said. "The U.S. Supreme Court doesn't react well to open defiance," he said.

Updated at 11:17 a.m. Jan. 7, 2016 with comments from Eric Johnston