Supreme Court rejects Louisiana same-sex marriage case, takes no action on 4 others

[Hissyspit]

Last edited Mon Jan 12, 2015, 11:45 AM - Edit history (2)

Source: Reuters

@BreakingNews: Supreme Court rejects Louisiana same-sex marriage case, takes no action on 4 others - @Reuters http://t.co/UMDS8HuKTQ/s/7wU8

@SCOTUSblog: No new grants; Court refuses early review of Louisiana SSM case, as expected. Other SSM cases will be reconsidered Friday and likely granted

Supreme Court rejects Louisiana gay marriage case, takes no action on four others

WASHINGTON | Mon Jan 12, 2015 9:56am EST

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court, which is in the midst of deciding whether to take up the issue of gay marriage, on Monday declined to take an early look at a challenge to Louisiana’s state ban.

The court took no action on four other pending cases concerning gay marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee, but could act on those cases as soon as later this week.

The decision not to hear the Louisiana case was not unexpected as gay rights advocates had sought to skip the regular judicial process by seeking Supreme Court review before the case had been decided by an appeals court. Gay rights advocates representing the Louisiana plaintiffs said in court papers there is a “pressing need” to resolve the issue once and for all.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which has jurisdiction over the state of Louisiana, heard arguments in the case on Friday and has not yet ruled. The same court is also weighing challenges to bans in Texas and Mississippi.

In the Louisiana case, a federal district court judge upheld the state ban in September 2014.

If the court were to take up one or more of the gay marriage cases, it would then issue a ruling that would determine whether 14 remaining state bans will be struck down. Gay marriage is currently legal in 36 states.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0KL1G220150112

[onehandle]

1. So much time wasted by fundies to set up a 30+ year conservative court.

Seems like the only cases they take up are to further the rights of corporations.

(An aside: My iPhone tried to autocorrect 'fundies' to 'gunfire.' Go figure...)

[rurallib]

2. do ya think they will ever learn that corporations and the wealthy,

busting unions, and making the middle class and poor suffer is all that the republican party is all about? I don't
Those fundies are such incredibly gullible useful idiots for the party of oppression.

[Amimnoch]

3. Damn...

Unless I'm missing something, or thinking of the wrong case, I believe this means that for Louisiana, Same sex marriage will remain illegal.

[William Seger]

4. I believe you're correct

A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the law banning SSM was constitutional, so that ruling stands.

[herding cats]

5. The SC declined to hear the Louisianan case early, so, yes, for now nothing has changed.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a case challenging Louisiana’s ban on same-sex marriage before a federal appeals court has rendered judgement.

In an order list released Monday, the justices rejected the petition for writ of certiorari in the Louisiana case, but took no additional action on the other same-sex marriage cases before the court.

In November, plaintiffs in the Louisiana case asked the Supreme Court to hear the case before a federal appeals court has rendered judgement. In September, U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman found constitutional a Louisiana law prohibiting same-sex marriage and recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, marking the first federal court decision to uphold a state ban on same-sex marriage since the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013. The state of Louisiana agreed with the plaintiffs that the Supreme Court should address whether the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires states to license or recognize same-sex marriages.

With the Supreme Court’s rejection of the Louisiana case, focus returns to the federal appeals court. On Friday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard oral arguments in cases challenging same-sex marriage bans in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. According to reports, the three-judge panel seems poised to strike down those bans as unconstitutional. That same day, the Supreme Court justices met behind closed doors at their private conference to consider challenges to same-sex marriage bans in Louisiana as well as Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

http://www.metroweekly.com/2015/01/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-louisiana-same-sex-marriage-case/