U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith has ruled in Caspar v. Snyder that even though the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed a trial court marriage equality ruling last year, more than 300 couples who married in the brief period time between that overruled decision and the 6th Circuit’s grant of a stay pending appeal are entitled to have their marriages recognized by the state. Rejecting the state’s argument that the 6th … <Read More>
Shirvell Strikes Out in Court of Appeals of Michigan
Andrew Shirvell, the former assistant attorney general from Michigan who was discharged for his conduct in reaction to the election of an openly gay student body president at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, suffered a double loss in the Court of Appeals of Michigan on January 8. The Court upheld the denial of his discharge grievance, finding his conduct unprotected by the First Amendment, and also ruled that he was not eligible for … <Read More>
January 2015 Brings a Flurry of New Marriage Equality Developments in First Two Weeks of New Year
On January 6, Florida became the 36th marriage equality state as the stay of a federal district court order expired and county clerks in the nation’s third most populous state began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. (A few couples got started a day early after a state court judge in Miami lifted a stay applicable to Miami-Dade county in a state court lawsuit.) As close observers of the unfolding marriage equality story focused their … <Read More>
Appellate Court of Illinois Recognizes Unjust Enrichment Cause of Action on Behalf Same-Sex Former Domestic Partner
The Appellate Court of Illinois ruled in Blumenthal v. Brewer, 2014 Il App (1st) 132250, 2014 Ill. App. LEXIS 904 (Dec. 19, 2014), that a state court judge who is the former same-sex partner of a physician can maintain a legal claim on the theory of unjust enrichment to seek compensation for her financial contributions towards the home they shared and the physician’s professional practice. The court found that legislative and common … <Read More>
Rhode Island Supreme Court Rules Catholic Firefighters’ Constitutional Rights Not Abridged by Assignment to Staff Fire Truck in Gay Pride Parade
The Rhode Island Supreme Court unanimously ruled on December 19 that two Providence fire fighters with religious objections to homosexuality did not enjoy a First Amendment right to decline an assignment to staff a fire truck participating in the 2001 Pride Parade in their city. Fabrizio v. Providence, 2014 R.I. LEXIS 158. The court reversed a decision by Providence County Superior Court Justice Brian Van Couyghen, who had denied a motion for summary judgment … <Read More>
New York Appellate Division Finds Lesbian Birth Mother “Judicially Estopped” From Denying Former Partner’s Parental Status
A unanimous panel of the N.Y. Appellate Division, 2nd Department, ruled on December 24 that a birth mother who successfully sued her former same-sex partner for child support was “judicially estopped” from arguing that the partner lacked standing to seek visitation rights with the child. Arriaga v. Dukoff, 2014 WL 7332764.
Estrellita Arriaga and Jennifer Dukoff lived together in a romantic relationship beginning in December 2003 and registered as domestic partners in New York … <Read More>
Marriage Equality Developments through December 23, 2014 – Updated Chronology
A while back I posted a chronology of significant developments in the legal campaign for marriage equality since the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2013 ruling in U.S. v. Windsor.
Here is a new chronology, showing significant developments since the Supreme Court denied petitions for certiorari on October 6 in appeals from marriage equality rulings by the 4th, 7th and 10th Circuit Courts of Appeals.
Oct. 6 – U.S. Supreme Court denies certiorari in marriage equality … <Read More>
Supreme Court Sending Affirmative Message on Marriage Equality
On December 19, the Supreme Court issued an Order denying a Motion by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi seeking an extension of a stay issued by the U.S. District Court in Florida of its ruling striking down the state’s ban on same-sex marriages. As usual, the Court issued no explanation for its decision, but it did indicate that Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia would have granted the Motion. This doesn’t necessarily signify that the … <Read More>
1st Circuit Rejects Sex-Reassignment Surgery for Michelle Kosilek
In a startling about-face, the five active judges of the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision by District Judge Mark L. Wolf and rejected the holding of a three-judge 1st Circuit panel on December 16 in finding that the Massachusetts Department of Correction did not violate the 8th Amendment ban on “cruel and unusual punishment” when it refused to provide sex-reassignment surgery for Michelle Kosilek, a life-prisoner for whom such surgery was … <Read More>
9th Circuit Rejects Challenge to LA Condom Ordinance
A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a constitutional challenge to a voter-initiated ordinance that compels producers of adult films to require their actors to use condoms during scenes of anal or vaginal intercourse while filming in Los Angeles County. The December 15 ruling affirmed a decision by District Judge Dean D. Pregerson, who actually struck out parts of the ordinance before denying a pretrial motion by film … <Read More>