Marriage equality faces federal challenges

DOMA’s future could be in peril

U.S. Supreme Court justices suggest federal law treads on state’s authority

By Kimberly Atkins
POSTED: March 29, 2013
Tags: Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA, gay marriage, U.S.Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed poised this week to strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act as an unconstitutional intrusion on the authority of states to regulate marriage. Such a ruling would allow the court to strike down the statute, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman under [...]

Attorney’s fee tab secretly grows in DOMA defense

By Dolan Media Newswires
POSTED: December 17, 2012
Tags: DOMA

Dolan Media Newswires — House Republicans signed authorized an increase the maximum amount Paul Clement and his colleagues at Bancroft can be paid to defend the Defense of Marriage Act from $1.5 million to $2 million — and Democrats were in the dark about the move for three months. Last week Democrats learned on the [...]

U.S. Supreme Court asked to consider DOMA case

By Dolan Media Newswires
POSTED: October 31, 2012
Tags: DOMA, petitions, U.S.Supreme Court, Windsor v. U.S.

The solicitor general is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to ignore the front of the line in the Defense of Marriage Act petitions for certiorari and instead agree to hear the last one filed. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr., in a brief filed Oct. 26, argues that the Second Circuit’s Oct. 18 decision in [...]

Delay in DOMA cases?

By Dolan Media Newswires
POSTED: October 25, 2012
Tags: certiorari petitions, DOMA, same-sex marriage, U.S.Supreme Court

New filing are expected at the U.S. Supreme Court in pending certiorari petitions involving the constitutional challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, a law prohibiting the federal recognition of same-sex marriages even where they are allowed under state law. The filings, from both the Obama administration and House Republicans defending the law, could be [...]

Second Circuit nixes DOMA

By The Associated Press
POSTED: October 18, 2012
Tags: DOMA, Second Circuit, struck down

NEW YORK — A divided Second Circuit struck down the Defense of Marriage Act Thursday as unconstitutional, joining an appeals court in Boston in rejecting the law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to take up the case in the next year. The U.S. Circuit [...]

Gay marriage arguments occur in US appeals court

By The Associated Press
POSTED: September 27, 2012
Tags: DOMA, Justice Department

NEW YORK — A Justice Department lawyer has been forced by a federal appeals panel in New York to explain the government’s decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act. Acting Assistant Attorney General Stuart Delery was put in an awkward position Thursday by two of three judges hearing arguments for the 2nd U.S. [...]

AGs call for support of anti-DOMA ruling

By Denise Champagne
POSTED: September 13, 2012
Tags: attorneys general, DOMA, same-sex marriage, Second Circuit, U.S Court of Appeals

The three states that comprise the Second Circuit are presenting the U.S. Court of Appeals with a unique question regarding the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The states, whose attorneys general have filed a friend-of-the-court brief, want the Court of Appeals to consider whether a sufficient federal interest exists to justify Congress disregarding the choice [...]

Plaintiff thrilled with gay marriage court ruling

By The Associated Press
POSTED: June 8, 2012
Tags: court ruling, DOMA, gay marriage

NEW YORK — The 82-year-old plaintiff in a lawsuit that challenged the federal Defense of Marriage Act said Thursday she was delighted and elated by a New York judge’s ruling in her favor. “Obviously I’m thrilled with the judge’s decision,” Edith Windsor said, referring to Wednesday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones that struck [...]

Senate panel OK’s repeal of DOMA

By Staff and Wire Reports
POSTED: November 10, 2011
Tags: DOMA, legislation, repeal, Senate Judiciary Committee

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to repeal a federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but the legislation lacks votes for passage in the House or Senate. The vote was 10-8, with all committee Democrats favoring appeal and all Republicans opposed. The only immediate effect is [...]

Marriage Equality CLE: More questions than answers

By Nora A. Jones
POSTED: September 16, 2011
Tags: DOMA, GRAWA, Marriage Equality CLE, Monroe County Bar Association

The Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys sponsored a two-credit CLE titled “Marriage Equality: Implications and Ramifications for the LGBT Community” on Sept. 13. June Castellano, past president of both the Monroe County Bar Association …

Schneiderman backs gay marriage federal suit

By The Associated Press
POSTED: July 26, 2011
Tags: Attorney General, court challenge, DOMA, Eric Schneiderman, New York State, same-sex marriage

ALBANY — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has joined the court challenge against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that denies married gay couples federal benefits. The brief filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan …