Garden State Equality v. Dow
Garden State Equality v. Dow | |
---|---|
Court | New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, Mercer Vicinage |
Full case name | Garden State Equality et al. v. Paula Dow acting in her official capacity as Attorney General of New Jersey et al. |
Decided | September 27, 2013 |
Citation(s) | 82 A. 3d 336 - NJ: Superior Court, Law Div. 2013 |
Case history | |
Subsequent action(s) | Defendants' motion to stay the trial court's order, denied (79 A. 3d 1036 - NJ: Supreme Court 2013) |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Mary C. Jacobson, A.J.S.C. |
Garden State Equality v. Dow, 82 A. 3d 336 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. 2013) is a
Preliminary hearings
On June 29, 2011, Lambda Legal filed suit in the Law Division of Superior Court in Mercer County on behalf Garden State Equality, seven same-sex couples, and several of their children, arguing that New Jersey's civil unions did not provide the same rights as marriage as required by the court's decision in Lewis v. Harris (2006).[1] The named defendant was Paula Dow, in her official capacity at the time as the Attorney General of New Jersey.
Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg initially dismissed the plaintiffs' claim that their federal equal protection rights were violated when they were denied marriage licenses, but later reinstated it for consideration by the trial court.[2] On July 3, 2013, the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 decision in United States v. Windsor meant that civil unions are not equivalent to marriage because same-sex couples in civil unions do not have access to the same federal benefits available to married couples.[3] A hearing on the motion was held on August 15, 2013.[4]
Trial court ruling
On September 27, 2013, Mary C. Jacobson, Assignment Judge of the Mercer Vicinage of the Superior Court, ruled that the state must allow same-sex couples to marry. The effective date of her order was October 21.[5]
In her ruling, Judge Jacobson wrote: "Since Windsor, the clear trend has been for Federal agencies to limit the extension of benefits to only those same-sex couples in legally recognized marriages." She pointed out that many of these agencies, including the
Appeal and application for stay
Governor Chris Christie immediately stated that his administration would appeal the ruling, and the Acting Attorney General requested any appeal to be fast-tracked or taken directly to the high court.[7] On September 30, the state defendants files a notice of appeal with the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division. It said that on appeal the state would argue that Garden State Equality and the other plaintiffs had not established beyond a reasonable doubt that New Jersey's civil union law runs afoul of the Constitution; that the trial court did not exercise maximum caution in granting summary judgement in a far-reaching case in violation of precedent; that under Windsor, civil union spouses are indeed entitled to federal marriage benefits; and that the respondents' equal protection claims fail because the state has a rational basis for enforcing existing civil union law.[8]
The state asked for a stay pending appeal, arguing that the state would suffer irreparable injury if same-sex marriage were allowed, that plaintiff's claim raises unsettled questions of Constitutional law, that the state has a reasonable probability of success in its appeal.
Later that day, the state defendants applied to the Appellate Division for permission to file an emergency motion. The application noted that developments so far "permits same-sex couples to marry in less than 3 weeks," and that the issue has "far-reaching social implications, and alteration of the traditional definition of marriage would result in a profound change in the public consciousness of a social institution of ancient origin."[12] Appellate Judge Carmen H. Alvarez granted permission for the state to file its motion on short notice, with the motion itself to be filed by the defendants the next day.[13]
The state appealed the ruling and the state Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal. The state also requested a stay of the ruling' implementation, which the state Supreme Court denied on October 18 in a 7–0 decision. Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote that "the state has advanced a number of arguments, but none of them overcome this reality: Same-sex couples who cannot marry are not treated equally under the law today."[14] The ruling also denied the request for stay because the court could "find no public interest in depriving a group of New Jersey residents of their constitutional right to equal protection while the appeals process unfolds."[15] Weddings were performed just after midnight on October 21, 2013, and Governor Christie dropped his administration's appeal of the lower court ruling that morning.[16]
See also
References
- ^ Friedman, Matt (June 29, 2011). "Advocates file lawsuit hoping to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey". Newark Star-Ledger. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ Jordan, Bob (February 22, 2012). "N.J. judge's ruling bolsters gay marriage lawsuit". USA Today. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ Geidner, Chris (July 3, 2013). "Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico Advocates Push Marriage Equality Efforts". BuzzFeed. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
- ^ Orr, Bill (July 3, 2013). "The Roller Coaster Marriage Equality Journey of Marsha Shapiro and Louise Walpin". Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- ^ "NJ Judge: State Must Allow Gays to Marry". Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
- ^ "Decision on Motion for Summary Judgement" (PDF). Garden State Equity v. Dow, N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div., Docket MER-L-1729-11 (Sept. 27, 2013).
- ^ "Chris Christie Appeals Gay Marriage Ruling To Higher Court". Huffington Post. September 30, 2013.
- ^ "Notice of Appeal" (PDF). Garden State Equity v. Dow, N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div., Docket A-0521-13 (Sep. 30, 2013). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ "Defendants' Brief in Support of Motion for a Stay" (PDF). Garden State Equality v. Dow, N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div., Docket MER-L-1729-11 (Oct. 1, 2013). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ "Order Denying Defendants' Motion for a Stay" (PDF). Garden State Equality v. Dow, N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div., Docket MER-L-1729-11 (Oct. 10, 2013).
- ^ "Statement of Reasons Supporting the Denial of the State's Application for a Stay" (PDF). Garden State Equality v. Dow, N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div., Docket MER-L-1729-11 (Oct. 10, 2013). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ "Application for Permission to File Emergent Motion" (PDF). Garden State Equality v. Dow, N.J. Super. Ct. Appellate Div., Docket A-0521-13 (Oct. 10, 2013). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ "Disposition on Application for Permission to File Emergent Motion" (PDF). Garden State Equality v. Dow, N.J. Super. Ct. Appellate Div., Docket A-0521-13 (Oct. 10, 2013). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ Hanna, Jason; Wang, Kevin (October 20, 2013). "Same-sex marriages can start Monday in New Jersey". CNN. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ Ax, Joseph (October 18, 2013). "New Jersey top court rules gay marriages can begin on Monday". Reuters. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
- ^ Zernike, Kate; Santora, Marc (October 21, 2013). "As Gays Wed in New Jersey, Christie Ends Court Fight". New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2013.