Whitewood v. Wolf
Whitewood v. Wolf | |
---|---|
sub nom. Santai-Gaffney v. Whitewood, No. 14A19 (U.S. Sup. Ct. July 9, 2014), denial of intervenor status summarily affirmed, appeal ordered dismissed, sub nom. Whitewood v. Secretary Pennsylvania Department of Health, No. 14-3048 (3d Cir. July 3, 2014); intervenor status denied (M.D. Pa. June 18, 2014) | |
Holding | |
State enjoined from enforcing same-sex marriage ban; such bans violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process and Equal Protection clauses. | |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | John E. Jones III, U.S.D.J. |
Whitewood v. Wolf is the federal lawsuit that successfully challenged the Pennsylvania Marriage Laws,[a] as amended in 1996 to ban same-sex marriage. The district court's decision in May 2014 held that the Marriage Laws violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the United States Constitution. Same-sex couples immediately sought and received marriage licenses and the decision was not appealed. One county clerk sought repeatedly without success to intervene to defend the law.
Lawsuit
On July 9, 2013, following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in
Pretrial motions
All parties agreed to having Corbett's name removed as a defendant.
On April 21, 2014, plaintiff same-sex couples filed a motion for summary judgment in Whitewood v. Wolf, which would allow the court to rule solely on the briefs without a trial. The state defendants agreed to dispense with trial as well.[9]
U.S. district court ruling
On May 20, 2014, Judge Jones ruled in Whitewood v. Wolf that Pennsylvania's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.
Pennsylvania's Republican Governor Tom Corbett announced on May 21 that he would not appeal Judge Jones' decision, effectively making Pennsylvania the 19th state to recognize same-sex marriage.[16]
Proposed intervention
On June 6, the Schuylkill County court clerk responsible for responding to marriage license applications, Theresa Santai-Gaffney, filed a motion before Judge Jones to allow her to intervene in the case in her official capacity. She wanted the court to stay its decision in Whitewood v. Wolf and to allow her to appeal it.[17] Judge Jones denied the motion on June 18, lamenting that a private citizen would use her public office to make a "wholly disingenuous" intervention.[18]
Santai-Gaffney immediately appealed the denial of her intervention to the
Court of Appeals dismissal
On July 3, a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit summarily affirmed Judge Jones' dismissal of the Santai-Gaffney's motion to intervene in Whitewood and ordered her appeal dismissed. U.S. Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz, in a two-sentence order, said such dismissal was warranted "[f]or essentially the reasons set forth in the Opinion of the District Court." Santai-Gaffney's lawyer then said "Our plan is to file something with the U.S. Supreme Court... The people of Pennsylvania deserve to have adequate review of this law."[21][22]
U.S. Supreme Court action
After the Third Circuit ruling, Santai-Gaffney applied for a stay of judgment from U.S. Supreme Court
Petition for rehearing
On July 17, 2014, Santai-Gaffney filed a petition in the Third Circuit to rehear her motion to intervene, or to rehear it en banc. With no judge that concurred in denying the original motion asking for rehearing, and all active judges in the circuit voting against, on August 4, 2014, the petition for rehearing was denied.[26][27]
See also
Notes
- ^ 23 Pa. C.S. § 1102, as amended in 1996, defined marriage as a "civil contract by which one man and one woman take each other for husband and wife."
Furthermore, 23 Pa. C.S. § 1704 was added and read: "It is hereby declared to be the strong and longstanding public policy of this Commonwealth that marriage shall be between one man and one woman. A marriage between persons of the same sex which was entered into in another state or foreign jurisdiction, even if valid where entered into, shall be void in this Commonwealth."
References
- ^ "A.C.L.U. Lawsuit Aims to Overturn Pennsylvania's Ban on Gay Marriage". New York Times. July 9, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
- ^ Lord, Rich (July 10, 2013). "Judge named to handle case trying to legalize gay marriage in Pennsylvania". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
- ^ Eilperin, Juliet (July 11, 2013). "Pa. attorney general says she won't defend state's gay marriage ban". Washington Post. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
- ^ a b Lindstrom, Natasha (July 30, 2013). "Corbett to defend Pennsylvania's gay marriage ban". Herald-Standard (Uniontown). Retrieved July 30, 2013.
- ^ Lord, Rich (November 1, 2013). "Corbett dropped in Pennsylvania gay marriage lawsuit". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
- ^ Warden, Amy (November 17, 2013). "Judge clears way for trial on Pa. gay marriage ban". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
- ^ Spencer, Saranac Hale (December 9, 2013). "Corbett pushing for Third Circuit to clarify law in gay marriage case". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ Jones, U.S. District Judge (December 17, 2013). "Memorandum and Order (denying interlocutory appeal), Whitewood v. Wolf, No. 1:13-cv1861". U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
- ^ ACLU of Pennsylvania (April 21, 2014). "Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment, Whitewood v. Wolf, No. 13-CV-1861-JEJ" (PDF). U.S. Middle District of Pennsylvania, via ACLU.org. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ "Federal judge strikes down gay marriage ban in Pennsylvania". Reuters. May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
- ^ Jones, U.S. District Judge (May 20, 2014), "Whitewood v. Wolf, No. 1:13-cv1861 (See pp. 40-41)" (PDF), U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2014, retrieved August 21, 2014
- ^ Fox News (May 20, 2014). "Pa. same-sex couples rush to get marriage licenses after judge overturns marriage ban". Retrieved May 21, 2014.
- ^ Pink News (May 25, 2014). "US: Couples begin to marry in Pennsylvania as same-sex marriage ruling comes into effect".
- ^ Riely, Kaitlynn (May 21, 2014). "Allegheny County marries its first same-sex couple amid smiles, tears". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
- ^ Madej, Patricia (May 23, 2014). "Wedding bells ring at art museum steps for same-sex couple". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
- ^ "Pennsylvania governor: I won't appeal court's gay marriage ruling". The Guardian. Associated Press. May 21, 2014.
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. via scribd.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ John E. Jones III (June 18, 2014). "Memorandum and order, Whitewood v. Wolf, No. 1:13-CV-1861" (PDF). Court. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
- )
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Scribd.com. PACERDocument 3111654697.
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. PACERDocument 3111670016.
- ^ Marchiano, Amy (July 5, 2014). "County official vows appeal after same-sex marriage setback". The Standard Speaker. Hazelton, PA.
- U.S. Supreme Court.
- ^ Associated Press (July 9, 2014). "Justice Alito denies clerk's bid to halt same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania". LBGTQ Nation.com.
- ^ Supreme Court of the United States: No. 14A19, Santai-Gaffney v. Whitewood, accessed July 10, 2014
- ^ Middleton, Josh (July 18, 2014). "Theresa Santai-Gaffney Strikes Again, Filing an 'En Banc' Motion With the Third Circuit". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. PACER Document 3111697838. Scribd.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.)
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link