With clerk jailed, gay Kentucky couple gets marriage license
MOREHEAD, Ky. — A gay couple emerged from a Kentucky county clerk’s office with a marriage license in hand Friday morning, embracing and crying as the defiant clerk who runs the office remained jailed for her refusal to issue the licenses because she opposed same-sex marriage. William Smith Jr. and James Yates, a couple for […]
Kentucky clerks to license marriages as their boss is jailed
ASHLAND, Ky. — A defiant county clerk went to jail Thursday for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, but five of her deputies agreed to comply with the law, ending a two-month church-state standoff in Rowan County, Kentucky. U.S. District Judge David Bunning said he had no choice but to jail Kim Davis […]
Kentucky clerk, citing God, defies courts on gay marriage
MOREHEAD, Ky. — Invoking “God’s authority,” a county clerk denied marriage licenses to gay couples again Tuesday in direct defiance of the federal courts, and vowed not to resign, even under the pressure of steep fines or jail. “It is not a light issue for me,” Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis said later through her […]
Commentary: High court doesn’t bother with ‘Baker’
“It is better to learn wisdom late than never to learn” —Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Man with the Twisted Lip” (1891) It’s extremely rare for the U.S. Supreme Court — and the advocates arguing before it — to ignore a “binding precedent” concerning a case before that august tribunal. It is so unusual that […]
Commentary: The fate of millions rests in the hands of nine
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument April 28 on cases from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee regarding 1) whether same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry, and 2) whether a state must recognize a same-sex marriage lawfully licensed and performed in another state. A decision is expected at the end of the court’s […]
Court hears historic same-sex marriage arguments
WASHINGTON— Pivotal U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy did not tip his hand Tuesday as the high court heard historic arguments over the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry. Justice Kennedy, whose vote could decide the issue, offered reasons for hope and worry to both sides in the rapt courtroom. Same-sex couples now […]
Same-sex marriage opponents urge caution
WASHINGTON — Same-sex marriage opponents acknowledge they face a tough task in trying to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to allow states to limit marriage to a man and a woman. But they are urging the court to resist embracing what they see as a radical change in society’s view of what constitutes a marriage, […]
String of legal wins bolsters same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON — One after another and in sometimes evocative language, judges appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents are declaring it’s too late to turn back on the topic of same-sex marriage. The unbroken string of state and federal court rulings in support of gay and lesbian unions takes in every region of the country, including […]
Decision of Interest: Supreme Court, Monroe County — Same Sex Marriage — Child Custody: Wendy G-M v. Erin G-M
Supreme Court, Monroe County Same Sex Marriage — Child Custody Artificial Insemination — Non-Biological Parent Wendy G-M v. Erin G-M 13-13669 Judge Dollinger Background: At issue in the underlying divorce action, the court was required to determine whether a parent who is not the biological spouse is a parent of a child conceived by artificial […]
High court puts same-sex marriage in Utah on hold
SALT LAKE CITY — Gay couples in Utah were thrust into legal limbo Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court put a halt to same-sex marriages in the state, turning jubilation to doubt just weeks after a judge’s ruling sent people rushing to get married. The justices did not rule on the merits of the case […]
Court strikes down DOMA provision
WASHINGTON — In a major victory for gay rights, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision of a federal law denying federal benefits to married gay couples and cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in California. The justices issued two 5-4 rulings in their final session of the term. […]
Supreme Court has range of options on gay marriage
WASHINGTON — The waiting is almost over. Sometime in the next week or so, the U.S. Supreme Court will announce the outcomes in cases on California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The federal law, known by the shorthand DOMA, defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman […]
Case Digests
- Fourth Department – Bill of particulars: Harris v. Rome Memorial Hospital, et al.
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Accusations against co-judge: Opinion 22-148
- Fourth Department – Medicaid: Washington Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Home v. NYS Dept. of Health
- Fourth Department – Criminal possession of a firearm: People v. Wilson
- Fourth Department – Promoting prostitution: People v. Watts
- Second Circuit – Class certification: Arkansas Teachers Retirement System V. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
- Fourth Department – Show-up identification: People v. Waggoner
- Fourth Department – Association: Victory Village Tenants Assoc. v. Evergreen Communities, et al.
- Second Circuit – In personam jurisdiction: Kaplan v. Bank Saderat PLC
- Fourth Department – Labor Law: Verdugo v. Fox Building Group
- Fourth Department – Out-of-possession landlord: Truax v. M.D. Meyer’s Properties
- Fourth Department – Discovery: Sylvester v. Sanders
Law News
- Espinosa named general counsel at Greenlight Networks
- Barclay Damon hires attorney Matt Smith
- Rochester man sues Geneseo police, alleging false arrest, assault
- The Daily Record’s Power List for Intellectual Property 2023
- NY ethics panel says judges can join NRA
- Harter Secrest & Emery LLP names partner-in-charge of Buffalo office
- Banned professor sues SUNY Fredonia leaders
- Hochul signs law requiring unemployment insurance information from employers