1. Palladino v. Corbett, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27154 (E.D. Pa., March 4, 2014) – This is the marriage recognition case pending in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. A right-wing Christian group calling itself “Philadelphia Metro Task Force” petitioned to intervene as co-defendants, in order to make arguments about morality and family values in opposition to the plaintiffs. This is a case where the state’s Attorney General has refused to defend the state’s marriage ban … <Read More>
Federal Judge Rules for Marriage Equality in Texas; Decision Stayed Pending Appeal to the 5th Circuit
U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the Western District of Texas, San Antonio, ruled on February 26 that Texas has shown no rational basis for depriving same-sex couples of the right to marry or for refusing to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. Adding yet another brick to the solid wall of federal trial court decisions that has been mounting since last summer, when a judge in Ohio ordered that state to recognize an out-of-state … <Read More>
Weekend Report: Massenet’s Werther at the Metropolitan Opera & Brahms’s Cello Sonatas at Carnegie Hall
I was mired in the 19th century for my musical weekend. On Saturday afternoon, I attended a performance of Jules Massenet’s opera, “Werther,” at the Metropolitan Opera, and on Sunday afternoon, the first Isaac Stern Memorial Concert at Carnegie Hall, a recital of music for cello and piano by Johannes Brahms, performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax.
Massenet’s opera, inspired by Goethe’s novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, is not a first-rate piece in … <Read More>
Another Window Opens for Early Marriages in Illinois
A federal judge who ruled in December that the Cook County (Illinois) Clerk could not delay issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples when one of the intended spouses was critically ill has moved a step further, granting a summary judgment motion requiring the Cook County Clerk to implement the state’s new marriage equality law immediately. Consequently, on February 21 it is possible for same-sex couples to get married in Cook County (Chicago and inner suburbs).… <Read More>
Mohawk-Sporting Flight Attendant Loses Discrimination Suit Upon Court’s Reconsideration
We previously commented about a December 3, 2013, decision by U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares, refusing to dismiss an employment discrimination claim by gay Continental flight attendant Ray Falcon, who showed up for work one day sporting what his supervisors called a “Mohawk” haircut that they found unacceptable. In order to meet his flight, Falcon got a co-worker to give him a quick clipping, and he claims to have suffered severe emotional distress as … <Read More>
1st Circuit Vacates Koselik Ruling for En Banc Review
A majority of the five active judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit has voted to withdraw and vacate the 2-1 panel decision in Kosilek v. Spencer, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 951, 2014 WL 185512 (1st Cir., Jan. 17, 2014), which had ruled that the Massachusetts Department of Corrections must provide gender reassignment surgery for Michelle Kosilek, who is serving a sentence of life imprisonment with no chance for parole upon … <Read More>
A Weekend’s Entertainment: Monument Men, Jonathan Groff at American Songbook (Lincoln Center), Bertolt Brecht’s “A Man’s A Man” at Classic Stage Company
I began the weekend by seeing “The Monument Men,” a new movie from George Clooney based on the story of a special U.S. Army unit that functioned in Europe towards the end of World War II in an attempt to reclaim art stolen by the Nazis. Some reviews have pointed out that this story has been depicted in film before, and questioned whether it needed to be shown again. I found the movie to be … <Read More>
Transgender Woman Wins New Trial on Inheritance From Her Husband
A three-judge panel of the Texas Court of Appeals ruled on February 13 that Nikki Araguz, a transgender woman who is the surviving spouse of Texas firefighter Thomas Araguz, is entitled to a trial of the question whether her marriage with Thomas was valid. Thomas died without a will, and his mother and ex-wife (suing on behalf of his children) contend that the marriage was not valid and thus cannot provide the basis for an … <Read More>
Virginia Marriage Equality Ruling Both a Big Deal and the New Normal
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal recognition for same-sex marriages, was unconstitutional, a wave of litigation over marriage equality has descended on the federal (and some state) trial courts, and so far every judge who has ruled on a motion for summary judgment has concluded that bans on performing or recognizing same-sex marriages violate the 14th Amendment of the U.S. … <Read More>
Cultural Diary – January 27 2014 through February 9 2014: From Marc Andre Hamelin to Bill Finn
Didn’t expect to see those two names in the same headline? Well, I’m multicultural…. I’ve been so consumed with writing about legal developments that I now have a backlog of cultural events upon which to comment, so here goes:
On January 27, I attended a recital by the Canadian-American pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, the recital auditorium under the main stage. Hamelin likes to play unusual repertory, so the biggest single piece … <Read More>