Two major marriage equality issues are up for consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court, one challenging Proposition 8 as well as three cases dealing with the Defense of Marriage Act, none of which were listed on the Supreme Court’s docket, which was released today. It is expected that they will officially release which cases they will forego on Monday, October 1.
Though there is no guarantee that the justices have dumped these four cases into the trash bin, their absence from the first grant review list is reason for speculation, with celebration and gloom for both sides of the battle line.
Should the high court dismiss the Prop 8 case, as urged by the high-profile lawyer tag team of David Boies and Ted Olson, the February 2012 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit will be upheld, permanently striking down Prop 8 as unconstitutional and allowing same-sex couples to marry in the state of California. If it dismisses the DOMA cases, each one will stand as the individual lower court rulings.
However, if the cases are not on the October 1 list, the issues will remain in limbo until the Supreme Court decides to review, allowing the opportunity to postpone any decision on those cases until after the presidential election.
Photo: newyorker.com
