The order was based on several grounds, including that Judge Granade’s ruling in January had no bearing on probate judges because they were not defendants.

Lawyers representing same-sex couples hoped that an order on Thursday, directed at a probate judge, would clear things up.

In a packed courtroom, Randall C. Marshall, legal director of the Alabama chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, who was representing the couples, argued that Chief Justice Moore’s order was “a nullity” because orders of that kind had to come from the court as a whole and not simply the chief justice. He added that Judge Granade’s first ruling should have settled the matter, but that having Judge Davis as a defendant should bring the situation to an “urgent resolution.”

Michael Druhan, a lawyer representing Judge Davis, said his client had no preference in the matter, but simply wanted guidance. He compared the judge’s position to that of someone who had stepped on a land mine in Vietnam, saying he would be shot by a sniper if he stayed there and blown up if he moved.

“We are going to accept any valid order from the federal court,” Mr. Druhan said.

Several probate judges said after the ruling that they planned to consult their lawyers about how to proceed. Others, however, had heard enough.

Bill English, the probate judge in Lee County, had been declining to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples this week. Reached by phone Thursday afternoon, he said he had read Judge Granade’s order and interpreted it as applying to him.