Wolf v. Walker

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Wolf v. Walker
Seal of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.svg
No. 14-2526
Court United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Full case nameVirginia Wolf, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
Scott Walker, et al.,
Defendants.
ArguedAugust 26, 2014
DecidedSeptember 4, 2014
Citation(s)766 F.3d 648
Case history
Prior action(s)District Court (W.D. Wis)

June 13, 2014: Stay ordered, 2014 WL 2693963.

June 6, 2014: Plaintiff same-sex couples' motion for declaratory and injunctive relief granted, 986 F. Supp. 2d 982.
Subsequent action(s)U.S. Supreme Court October 6, 2014: Petition for writ of certiorari denied, [1] 2014 WL 4425163, 83 USLW 3102.
Related action(s)Court of Appeals (7th Cir.) July 11, 2014: Consolidated for argument with Baskin v. Bogan , No. 14-2386.
Holding
The district court's decision invalidating Wisconsin's same-sex marriage ban is affirmed.
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting Richard Posner,
David Hamilton,
Ann Claire Williams.
Keywords
Same-sex marriage

Wolf v. Walker is a federal lawsuit filed in February 2014 that challenged Wisconsin's refusal to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, its refusal to recognize same-sex marriages established in other jurisdictions, and related statutes. In June 2014, Judge Barbara Crabb of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ruled for the plaintiffs. In the week before she stayed her decision, county clerks in 60 of the state's 72 counties issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples and some performed marriage ceremonies for them. The state appealed her decision to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed her opinion in a unanimous decision on September 4. The state requested a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court, which was denied on October 6. Same-sex marriages resumed after the Seventh Circuit issued its mandate the next day.

Contents

Filing

On February 3, 2014, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the law firm of Mayer Brown filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on behalf of four same-sex couples, including a lesbian couple married in Minnesota in 2013. It challenged the state constitution's ban on same-sex marriage as well as Wisconsin's marriage evasion law, which makes it a crime to leave the state to establish a marriage that is not valid in Wisconsin punishable with up to nine months in jail and a fine of as much as $10,000. The suit named Governor Scott Walker, several state officials, and two county clerks as defendants. [2] [3]

The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Barbara Brandriff Crabb, who scheduled a hearing for March 27. [4] The two county clerks named as defendants supported the plaintiffs' position. District attorneys in Milwaukee and Eau Claire counties agreed not to prosecute the plaintiffs under the marriage evasion law. Prompted by Judge Crabb, who noted that several rulings against state bans of same-sex marriage in other jurisdictions had been stayed, on March 12 the plaintiffs withdrew their request for injunctions against the state's enforcement of both its ban on same-sex marriage and the marriage evasion law, and asked the court to set an expedited schedule. [5]

District court ruling

On June 6, 2014, Crabb concluded that the state's constitutional and legislative ban on same-sex marriage interferes with the fundamental right to marry, violating the due process clause of the Constitution of the United States, and discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation, violating the equal protection clause. [6]

Crabb concluded that "sexual-orientation discrimination is subject to heightened scrutiny" under the equal protection clause based on four factors used by the United States Supreme Court: (1) a history of discrimination, (2) an ability to "contribute to society to the same extent as others", (3) sexual orientation is immutable in the sense that "the law may not require someone to change his or her sexual orientation" and that it is "fundamental to a person's identity", and (4) being politically powerless in the sense of an "inherent vulnerab[ility] in the context of the ordinary political process, either because of...size or history of disenfranchisement." Crabb stated that the state's same-sex marriage ban must be substantially related to an important governmental objective to survive heightened scrutiny, specifically intermediate scrutiny. [7]

The important government interests argued by the state were: "(1) preserving tradition; (2) encouraging procreation generally and 'responsible' procreation in particular; (3) providing an environment for 'optimal child rearing'; (4) protecting the institution of marriage; (5) proceeding with caution; and (6) helping to maintain other legal restrictions on marriage." [8]

The state had argued that, "[t]he traditional view of marriage—between a man and woman...—has been recognized for millennia." Crabb stated, "the most 'traditional' form of marriage has not been between one man and one woman, but between one man and multiple women, which presumably is not a tradition that defendants and amici would like to continue...Similarly, women were deprived of many opportunities, including the right to vote, for much of this country's history, often because of 'traditional' beliefs about women's abilities...With respect to marriage in particular, there was a time when 'the very being or legal existence of [a] woman [was] suspended' when she married," [9] [10] referring to coverture.

Reaction

Although the ruling did not immediately issue an injunction directing state officials to stop enforcing the ban, [11] clerks in the state's largest two counties, Milwaukee and Dane, began marrying same-sex couples on their own volition based on Judge Crabb's declaration. [12] By the following business day, June 9, forty-two counties were issuing licenses. [13] [14] Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen filed for an emergency stay from Crabb to stop further marriages [12] [15] and also requested a stay from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. [16] Crabb denied the emergency stay because she had not yet issued an injunction that could be stayed. She said that she had yet to decide whether county clerks can issue marriage licenses and that it was for state courts to decide if county clerks were issuing licenses in violation of state law. [17] [18] The Seventh Circuit also denied a stay because Crabb had not yet issued a final ruling. [17] After consultations with the state's department of vital records, Brown and Sheboygan counties began performing same-sex marriages on June 9, though Outagamie and Door counties placed a five-day waiting period on applicants before performing ceremonies. In the case of counties performing ceremonies, the waiting period was waived with a payment of $25 in addition to the license fee to the county clerk. [19] [20] Sixty of Wisconsin's seventy-two counties were issuing licenses during the eight-day window. [21]

On June 12, Attorney General Van Hollen suggested that county clerks issuing same-sex marriage licenses could be prosecuted by their county's individual district attorneys for issuing them against the advice of the attorney general's office. [22] [23]

Hearing on injunctive relief

The ACLU, representing the plaintiffs, submitted proposed language for injunctive relief, as directed by Judge Crabb in her original ruling. The state Office of the Attorney General, while requesting that the court "expedite its ruling and enter final judgment without further hearing or oral argument," has filed an objection to it. On one hand, attorneys for the defendants stated that the proposed injunction "is not sufficiently specific" and "hopelessly vague," and on the other hand, objected to it as "expansive in scope" and described it as "judicial legislation." [24] [25]

On June 13, 2014, Crabb adopted the injunction proposed by the plaintiffs, rewording it to address the concerns of vagueness expressed by the state defendants. [26] [27] She enjoined the defendants from enforcing the ban but stayed "all relief in this case", meaning the injunction and declaration of unconstitutionality (despite her previous finding that defendants could not cite authority to stay a declaration); this effectively ended same-sex marriage even under county clerks' own volition in Wisconsin, pending appeal. The judge expressed the view that she was bound by Supreme Court precedent to enter the stay: [28]

After seeing the expressions of joy on the faces of so many newly wedded couples featured in media reports, I find it difficult to impose a stay on the event that is responsible for eliciting that emotion, even if the stay is only temporary. Same-sex couples have waited many years to receive equal treatment under the law, so it is understandable that they do not want to wait any longer.

Appeal

The state appealed the decision to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on July 10. [29] In response to a request by the original plaintiffs, the Court has combined the case for the purposes of briefing and oral argument with a similar Indiana case, Baskin v. Bogan . [30] [31] Judges Richard Posner, David Hamilton, and Ann Claire Williams heard arguments on August 26 in this case and Baskin v. Bogan . [32]

On September 4, the Seventh Circuit, in a unanimous opinion authored by Judge Richard Posner, upheld the district court decision. [33] He wrote: [34]

The challenged laws discriminate against a minority defined by an immutable characteristic, and the only rationale that the states put forth with any conviction–that same-sex couples and their children don't need marriage because same-sex couples can't produce children, intended or unintended–is so full of holes that it cannot be taken seriously. To the extent that children are better off in families in which the parents are married, they are better off whether they are raised by their biological parents or by adoptive parents.

On September 9, Wisconsin Attorney General Van Hollen asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision. [35] The court stayed its decision before it could take effect. [36] On October 6, 2014, the Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari to the combined appeal, letting the circuit court decision stand. [37] Attorney General Van Hollen subsequently issued a statement saying that, "the Seventh Circuit affirmed the District Court's decision holding Wisconsin's Marriage Protection Amendment unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court has declined the opportunity to examine that decision. It is now our obligation to comply with those court decisions." [38]

Same-sex marriages resumed after the Seventh Circuit issued its mandate the next day. [39] [40]

See also

Related Research Articles

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This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2014.

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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Mississippi since June 26, 2015. On November 25, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi ruled that Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Enforcement of his ruling was stayed pending appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples violates the U.S. Constitution. On June 29, Attorney General Jim Hood ordered clerks to comply with the court ruling and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Fifth Circuit lifted its stay on July 1, and Judge Reeves ordered an end to Mississippi's enforcement of its same-sex marriage ban. However, until July 2, 2015, several counties in Mississippi continued to refuse to issue marriage licenses, including DeSoto, Jasper, Jones, Newton, Pontotoc, Simpson and Yalobusha.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Arkansas since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, striking down same-sex marriage bans nationwide. Prior to this, same-sex marriage in Arkansas was briefly legal for a period beginning on May 9, 2014, as a result of a ruling by Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Chris Piazza striking down the state's constitutional and statutory bans on same-sex marriage as violating the U.S. Constitution. Approximately 541 same-sex couples received marriage licenses in several counties before the Arkansas Supreme Court stayed his ruling pending appeal on May 16, 2014.

<i>Wright v. Arkansas</i>

Wright v. Arkansas is a same-sex marriage case pending before the Arkansas Supreme Court. An Arkansas Circuit Court judge ruled the Arkansas Constitution's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional on May 9, 2014. He clarified his opinion to include state statutes that interfered with allowing or recognizing same-sex marriage as well. The state Supreme Court issued a stay in the case on May 16, 2014, but approximately 450 same-sex marriage licenses were issued before the stay went into effect.

<i>Whitewood v. Wolf</i>

Whitewood v. Wolf is the federal lawsuit that successfully challenged the Pennsylvania Marriage Laws, 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.

<i>Brinkman v. Long</i>

Brinkman v. Long, and its companion case, McDaniel-Miccio v. Hickenlooper, are the lead state court cases on same-sex marriage in Colorado. Here, a Colorado district court found on July 9, 2014, that the state's same-sex marriage ban violates same-sex couples' guarantees of equal protection and due process under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Brinkman and McDaniel-Miccio have been appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court, where they were dismissed following the dismissal of similar petitions by the U.S. Supreme Court on October 6, 2014.

<i>Baskin v. Bogan</i>

Baskin v. Bogan, the lead Indiana case challenging that state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples, was filed in federal district court on March 12, 2014, naming several government officials as defendants. Chief Judge Richard L. Young found for the plaintiffs on June 25. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the district court ruling in a unanimous decision on September 4.

<i>Burns v. Hickenlooper</i>

Burns v. Hickenlooper is a lawsuit filed on July 1, 2014, in federal district court in Colorado, challenging that state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples. The plaintiffs' complaint alleged that the defendants have violated the Fourteenth Amendment by denying plaintiffs the fundamental right of marriage. The defendants agreed with the substance of the plaintiffs' case, but asked the district court to stay implementation of any order requiring Colorado to alter enforcement of its ban pending the outcome of other litigation. After the district court declined to grant more than a one-month stay on July 23, the state's governor and attorney general appealed and won a stay from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 21. Following U.S. Supreme Court action in other cases, on October 8 they asked the Tenth Circuit to dismiss their appeal and lift the stay, which would effectively legalize same-sex marriage in Colorado.

In Brenner v. Scott and its companion case, Grimsley v. Scott, a U.S. district court found Florida's constitutional and statutory same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional. On August 21, 2014, the court issued a preliminary injunction that prevents that state from enforcing its bans and then stayed its injunction until stays are lifted in the three same-sex marriage cases then petitioning for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court–Bostic, Bishop, and Kitchen–and for 91 days thereafter. When the district court's preliminary injunction took effect on January 6, 2015, enforcement of Florida's bans on same-sex marriage ended.

In the United States, the history of same-sex marriage dates from the early 1940s, when the first lawsuits seeking legal recognition of same-sex relationships brought the question of civil marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples to public attention though they proved unsuccessful. However marriage wasn't a request for the LGBTQ movement until the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Washington (1987). The subject became increasingly prominent in U.S. politics following the 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court decision in Baehr v. Miike that suggested the possibility that the state's prohibition might be unconstitutional. That decision was met by actions at both the federal and state level to restrict marriage to male-female couples, notably the enactment at the federal level of the Defense of Marriage Act.

References

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