Obergefell v. Kasich
| Decision Date | 22 July 2013 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 1:13-cv-501 |
| Parties | JAMES OBERGEFELL, et al. Plaintiffs, v. JOHN KASICH, et al. Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio |
This is not a complicated case. The issue is whether the State of Ohio can discriminate against same sex marriages lawfully solemnized out of state, when Ohio law has historically and unambiguously provided that the validity of a marriage is determined by whether it complies with the law of the jurisdiction where it was celebrated.
Throughout Ohio's history, Ohio law has been clear: a marriage solemnized outside of Ohio is valid in Ohio if it is valid where solemnized. Thus, for example, under Ohio law, out-of-state marriages between first cousins are recognized by Ohio, even though Ohio law does not authorize marriages between first cousins. Likewise, under Ohio law, out of state marriages of minors are recognized by Ohio, even though Ohio law does not authorize marriages of minors.
How then can Ohio, especially given the historical status of Ohio law, single out same sex marriages as ones it will not recognize? The short answer is that Ohio cannot ...at least not under the circumstances here.
By treating lawful same sex marriages differently than it treats lawful opposite sex marriages (e.g., marriages of first cousins and marriages of minors), Ohio law, as applied to these Plaintiffs, likely violates the United States Constitution which guarantees that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction equal protection of the laws."
The end result here and now is that the local Ohio Registrar of death certificates is hereby ORDERED not to accept for recording a death certificate for John Arthur that does not record Mr. Arthur's status at death as "married" and James Obergefell as his "surviving spouse."
Less than a month ago, on June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued its historic decision in United States v. Windsor, _ U.S. _, 133 S.Ct. 2675 (2013). The Supreme Court held that the federal Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"), which denied recognition to same-sex marriages for purposes of federal law, was unconstitutional, as it denied fundamental fairness and equal protection of the law to gay citizens. While the holding in Windsor is ostensibly limited to a finding that the federal government cannot refuse to recognize state laws authorizing same sex marriage, the issue whether States can refuse to recognize out-of-state same sex marriages is now surely headed to the fore. Indeed, just as Justice Scalia predicted in his animated dissent, by virtue of the present lawsuit, "the state-law shoe" has now dropped in Ohio. Windsor, 133 S.Ct. at 77-78.
Plaintiffs James Obergefell and John Arthur are male Cincinnati residents who have been living together in a committed and intimate relationship for more than twenty years, and they were very recently legally married in the state of Maryland pursuant to the laws of Maryland recognizing same sex marriage.
Mr. Arthur is currently a hospice patient. He is dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ("ALS"). ALS is a progressive disease that has caused Mr. Arthur severe and worsening muscle deterioration, has no known cure, and is fatal.
On July 11, 2013, Plaintiffs traveled to Maryland in a special jet equipped with medical equipment and a medical staff necessary to serve Mr. Arthur's needs, whereupon Plaintiffs were married in the jet as it sat on the tarmac in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. They returned to Cincinnati that same day.
Plaintiffs' marriage is legally recognized in Maryland and by the federal government by virtue of the very recent and historic decision of the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor, __ U.S. _, 133 S.Ct. 2675 (2013). Plaintiffs' marriage is not recognized in Ohio, as legal recognition of same-sex marriages is prohibited by Ohio law enacted in 2004. See Ohio Rev. Code. § 3101.01(C)(2)&(3) and Ohio Constitution Art. XV, §11.
Mr. Arthur is certain to die soon. Consistent with Ohio law, his death record will list his "marital status at time of death" as "unmarried" and will not record Mr. Obergefell as the "surviving spouse."
Plaintiffs seek an order of this Court declaring unconstitutional the Ohio laws forbidding recognition of legal same sex marriages from other states and requiring the Registrar of Ohio death certificates to record John Arthur as "married" and to record James Obergefell as his "surviving spouse" at the time of Mr. Arthur's death, which is imminent.
In determining whether to grant injunctive relief, this Court must weigh four factors: (1) whether the moving party has shown a strong likelihood of success on the merits; (2) whether the moving party will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is not issued; (3) whether the issuance of the injunction would cause substantial harm to others; and (4) whether the public interest would be served by issuing the injunction. Overstreet v. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Gov't, 305 F.3d 566, 573 (6th Cir. 2002). These four considerations are factors to be balanced, not prerequisites that must be met. McPherson v. Michigan High Sch. Athletic Ass'n, Inc., 119 F.3d 453, 459 (6th Cir. 1997), and there is no "rigid and comprehensive test for determining the appropriateness of preliminary injunctive relief." Tate v. Frey, 735 F.2d 986, 990 (6th Cir. 1984).
Plaintiffs bear the burden of demonstrating their entitlement to a preliminary injunction, and an "injunction is an extraordinary remedy which should be granted only if the movant carries his or her burden of proving that the circumstances clearly demand it."Overstreet, 305 F.3d at 513. In the Sixth Circuit, "[t]he standard for issuing a temporary restraining order is logically the same as for a preliminary injunction with emphasis, however, on irreparable harm[.]" Reid v. Hood, No. 1:10 CV 2842, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7631, at *2 (N.D. Ohio Jan 26, 2011) (citing Motor Vehicle Bd. of Calif. v. Fox, 434 U.S. 1345, 1347 n.2 (1977)). Moreover, "[a]lthough no one factor is controlling, a finding that there is simply no likelihood of success on the merits is usually fatal." Gonzales v. Nat'l Bd. of Med. Exam'rs, 225 F.3d 620, 625 (6th Cir. 2000).
Even if the court is not certain that a plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits, a preliminary injunction is still appropriate where the plaintiff shows "'serious questions going to the merits and irreparable harm which decidedly outweighs any potential harm to the defendant'" or if "the merits present a sufficiently serious question to justify further investigation." In re DeLorean Motor Co., 755 F.2d 1223, 1229-30 (6th Cir. 1985) (quoting Friendship Materials, Inc. v. Michigan Brick, Inc., 679 F.2d 100, 105 (6th Cir. 1982)).
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." U.S. Const. Amend. XIV.
Plaintiffs, a same-sex couple, are legally married in Maryland. They reside in Ohio where their marriage is not recognized as valid. They are treated differently than they would be if they were in a comparable opposite-sex marriage. By treating lawful same sex marriages differently than it treats lawful opposite sex marriages (e.g., marriages of first cousins and marriages of minors), Plaintiffs assert that the Ohio laws barring recognition of out-of-state same sex marriages, enacted in 2004, violate equal protection.
Although the law has long recognized that marriage and domestic relations are matters generally left to the states, see Ex parte Burrus, 136 U.S. 586, 593-94 (1890), the restrictions imposed on marriage by states, however, must nonetheless comply with the Constitution. Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, 12 (1967) (); Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U.S. 374, 383 (1978) ().
In Windsor, the Supreme Court again applied the principle of equal protection to a statute restricting marriage when it reviewed the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"), which denied recognition to same-sex marriages for purposes of federal law. This included marriages from the twelve states and District of Columbia in which same-sex couples could legally marry. The Supreme Court held that the federal law was unconstitutional because it violated equal protection and due process principles guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. at 2675.
In reality, the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Windsor was not unprecedented as the Supreme Court relied upon its equal protection analysis from an earlier case, where, in 1996, the Court held that an amendment to a state constitution, ostensibly just prohibiting any special protections for gay people, in truth violated the Equal Protection Clause, under even a rational basis analysis. Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996).
In Romer, the Supreme Court struck down Colorado's Amendment 2 because, the Court held, Id. at 635. The Supreme Court deemed this "c...
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