On Tuesday, March 26, 2013 the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the challenge to California’s ban on same-sex marriage in that state. The issues involved in this case are (1) whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the State of California from defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman; and (2) whether petitioners have standing under Article III, § 2 of the Constitution in this case.
On Wednesday, March 27 Justices will hear oral argument in United States v. Windsor, the challenge to the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The issues involved in this case include (1) whether Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws as applied to persons of the same sex who are legally married under the laws of their State; (2) whether the Executive Branch’s agreement with the court below that DOMA is unconstitutional deprives this Court of jurisdiction to decide this case; and (3) whether the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives has Article III standing in this case.
