Motley Moose – Archive

UPDATE:

– DOMA struck down as unconstitutional

– Prop 8 petitioners have no standing and the District Court ruling stands. California can resume marrying same-sex couples.

Today the final decisions on the merit cases argued in the October 2012 term will be announced starting at 10am Eastern.

SCOTUS Blog for liveblog starting at 9:00am Eastern.  

Pending cases include:

– Hollingsworth v. Perry 12-144, heard 03/26/2013 (Prop 8)

– United States v. Windsor 12-307, heard 03/27/2013 (DOMA)

Here are the two marriage equality cases:

Hollingsworth v. Perry 12-144 CA9 Mar 26, 2013

(1) Whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the State of California from defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman; and (2) whether petitioners have standing under Article III, §2 of the Constitution in this case.

United States v. Windsor 12-307 CA2 Mar 27, 2013

(1) Whether Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws as applied to persons of the same sex who are legally married under the laws of their State; (2) whether the Executive Branch’s agreement with the court below that DOMA is unconstitutional deprives this Court of jurisdiction to decide this case; and (3) whether the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives has Article III standing in this case.

Some SCOTUS news and commentary, found on the Internets:

Amy Howe at SCOTUSBlog – Waiting on Proposition 8 and DOMA decisions: In Plain English

Over four years ago, superlawyers Ted Olson and David Boies – who opposed each other in the Bush v. Gore presidential election case – came together to challenge California’s ban on same-sex marriage on behalf of two California couples.  In the next few days, the Supreme Court is finally expected to rule on whether that ban (known as Proposition 8) and the federal Defense of Marriage Act – which limits marriage to a union between a man and a woman for purposes of federal law – are constitutional.  But then again, it might not . . . .  So let’s talk about the same-sex marriage cases and what the Court could do with them in Plain English.

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WaPo: How the Supreme Court could rule on same-sex marriage, in 1 interactive chart

If the Supreme Court upholds Prop. 8:

– California will continue to have the power to ban same-sex marriages.

If the Supreme Court strikes down Prop. 8:

– on the merits that states cannot withdraw the right to same-sex marriage once it has been extended, only California would be affected.

– on the merits that states cannot provide benefits of marriage through civil unions and withhold the label “marriage,” the seven states in the 9th Circuit would be affected.

– on the merits that the constitutional right of marriage must be extended to same-sex couples, marriage bans in 35 states would be affected.

If the Supreme Court says Prop. 8 supporters lack standing:

– Same-sex marriages in California are likely to resume. How the ruling applies elsewhere would require additional litigation.

If the Supreme Court overturns DOMA:

– Federal benefits available to heterosexual couples must be extended to same-sex couples in the 12 states and the District of Columbia where same-sex marriages are legal.

If the Supreme Court upholds DOMA:

– Congress has the power to define marriage for federal purposes as between one man and one woman. No states would be affected.

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