Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Attorney General Sean Reyes filed their petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court on August 5, seeking review of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Kitchen v. Herbert. At the Supreme Court, the case would be called Herbert v. Kitchen. The 10th Circuit ruled on June 25 that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage violated the 14th Amendment by depriving same-sex couples of the fundamental right to … <Read More>
Kitchen v. Herbert
Court of Appeals Argument on Utah’s Appeal of Marriage Ruling Points to Variety of Potential Outcomes
A panel of three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver heard oral arguments on Thursday, April 10, in Utah’s appeal of a December ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby that the state’s constitutional and statutory ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. Because both Judge Shelby and a 10th Circuit panel had refused to stay that ruling pending appeal, more than 1,000 same-sex couples married in Utah before … <Read More>
Marriage Equality Case Developments Come Hot and Heavy
As anticipation builds for the first federal appellate arguments on marriage equality since the Supreme Court’s decision last June striking down the Defense of Marriage Act’s anti-gay federal marriage definition, new developments in marriage equality litigation continue to pile up in various parts of the country.
On Thursday, April 10, a panel of three judges of the Denver-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit will hear the state of Utah’s appeal of last … <Read More>
Bush Appointees Split Over Stay of Michigan Marriage Ruling
A panel of three federal judges, all appointed by George W. Bush, were split 2-1 about issuing a stay of the U.S. District Court’s ruling that Michigan must allow same-sex couples to marry. Circuit Judge John M. Rogers and Kentucky Chief District Judge Karen Caldwell voted to grant the state’s motion for a stay, while Circuit Judge Helene White dissented.
The approach of the majority seemed to be “Ours is not to reason why,” as … <Read More>
Supreme Court Blocks Utah Marriages Pending 10th Circuit Decision
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the following order:
MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2014
ORDER IN PENDING CASE
13A687 HERBERT, GOV. OF UT, ET AL. V. KITCHEN, DEREK, ET AL.
The application for stay presented to Justice Sotomayor and
by her referred to the Court is granted. The permanent
injunction issued by the United States District Court for the
District of Utah, case No. 2:13-cv-217, on December 20, 2013, is
stayed pending final disposition of … <Read More>
Utah Plaintiffs Strongly Counter State’s Supreme Court Stay Application in Marriage Equality Case
Today the attorneys for the plaintiffs in Kitchen v. Herbert, the Utah marriage equality case, filed their opposition with the Supreme Court to the state’s application for a stay of the trial court ruling.
Under the trial court ruling, issued on Dec. 20, same-sex marriages began happening in Utah that date. On December 23, the trial judge, Robert Shelby, denied the state’s motion to stay his ruling pending appeal. Two days later, a panel of … <Read More>