Supreme Court to Consider Cert Petitions Involving Gay Marriage

At a private conference on November 20, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider several cert petitions involving gay marriage. The justices will consider 10 petitions and it is almost certain that the court will agree to hear at least one case on the subject.

The Obama administration recommends that the court hear Windsor v. United States. In Windsor, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act that bars the federal government from giving benefits to married gay couples. House Republicans argue that this case presents standing issues because it is not even clear if plaintiff Edith Windsor’s Canadian marriage would have been accepted by New York because it was performed before New York allowed same sex marriage.

House republicans would like for the court to review what is now known as Gill v. Office of Personnel Management. In this case, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals also struck down DOMA. If this case is heard, Justice Elena Kagan could recuse herself because of her work as Solicitor General on the litigation.

See Debra Cassens Weiss, Supreme Court to Consider Gay-Marriage Cert Petitions Before Thanksgiving, ABAJournal, Nov. 9, 2012.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.