Robicheaux v. Caldwell

• Decision Date: 03 September 2014
• Docket Number: 14–97,Civil Action Nos. 13–5090,14–327.
• Citation: 2 F.Supp.3d 910
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana
• Parties: Jonathan P. ROBICHEAUX, et al. v. James D. CALDWELL, Louisiana Attorney General, et al.

2 F.Supp.3d 910

Jonathan P. ROBICHEAUX, et al.
v.
James D. CALDWELL, Louisiana Attorney General, et al.

Civil Action Nos. 13–5090, 14–97, 14–327.

United States District Court,
E.D. Louisiana.

Signed Sept. 3, 2014.

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Richard Gerard Perque, Law Office of Richard G. Perque, LLC, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiffs.

Stuart Kyle Duncan, Angelique Duhon Freel, Jessica M.P. Thornhill, Louisiana Department of Justice, Baton Rouge, LA, for Defendants.

ORDER AND REASONS
MARTIN L.C. FELDMAN, District Judge.

Before the Court are cross motions for summary judgment. The Court finds that defendants in this passionately charged national issue have the more persuasive argument. The State of Louisiana has a legitimate interest under a rational basis standard of review for addressing the meaning of marriage through the democratic process. For the reasons that follow, plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment is DENIED and defendants' motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.

Background

These consolidated cases challenge the constitutionality of Louisiana's ban on same-sex marriage and its choice not to recognize same-sex marriages that are lawful in other states. Plaintiffs include six same-sex couples who live in Louisiana and are validly married under the law of another state, one same-sex couple who seeks the right to marry in Louisiana, and the Forum for Equality Louisiana, Inc., a nonprofit advocacy organization. Plaintiffs allege that Article XII, Section 15 of the Louisiana Constitution,¹ which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, and article 3520(B) of the Louisiana Civil Code,² which denies recognition

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of same-sex marriages contracted in other states as being against Louisiana's strong public policy, violate their constitutional rights to Equal Protection and Due Process.³ They also urge that the Louisiana Department of Revenue Information Bulletin No. 13–024,⁴ which requires same-sex couples lawfully married in other states to certify on their Louisiana state income tax returns that they are single, violates their First Amendment freedom of speech. Plaintiffs name Tim Barfield, the Louisiana Secretary of Revenue, Devin George, the Louisiana State Registrar, and Kathy Kliebert, the Louisiana Secretary of Health and Hospitals, as defendants.

The parties have filed cross motions for summary judgment. All issues have been briefed and the Court has held oral argument.⁵

I.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 instructs that summary judgment is proper if the record discloses no genuine dispute as to any material fact such that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. No genuine dispute of fact exists if the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). A genuine dispute of fact exists only “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

The Court emphasizes that the mere argued existence of a factual dispute

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does not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion. See id. Therefore, “[i]f the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative,” summary judgment is appropriate. Id. at 249–50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citations omitted). Summary judgment is also proper if the party opposing the motion fails to establish an essential element of his case. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322–23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In this regard, the non-moving party must do more than simply deny the allegations raised by the moving party. See Donaghey v. Ocean Drilling & Exploration Co., 974 F.2d 646, 649 (5th Cir.1992). Rather, he must come forward with competent evidence, such as affidavits or depositions, to buttress his claims. Id. Finally, in evaluating the summary judgment motion, the Court must read the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

This national same-sex marriage struggle animates a clash between convictions regarding the value of state decisions reached by way of the democratic process as contrasted with personal, genuine, and sincere lifestyle choices recognition. The defendants maintain that marriage is a legitimate concern of state law and policy. That it may be rightly regulated because of what for centuries has been understood to be its role. Not so say plaintiffs, who vigorously submit if two people wish to enter into a bond of commitment and care and have that bond recognized by law as a marriage, they should be free to do so, and their choice should be recognized by law as a marriage; never mind the historic authority of the state or the democratic process. These are earnest and thoughtful disputes, but they have become society's latest short fuse. One may be firmly resolved in favor of same-sex marriage, others may be just as determined that marriage is between a man and a woman. The challenge is how and where best to resolve these conflicting notions about what is marriage and what influence should the U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor have? See ––– U.S. ––––, 133 S.Ct. 2675, 186 L.Ed.2d 808 (2013).

II. A.

The Court first takes up the most hefty constitutional issue: Equal Protection. The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution commands that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. “The Equal Protection Clause ... essentially directs that all persons similarly situated be treated alike.” Stoneburner v. Sec'y of the Army, 152 F.3d 485, 491 (5th Cir.1998) (citing City of Cleburne, Tex. v. Cleburne Living Ctr., 473 U.S. 432, 440, 105 S.Ct. 3249, 87 L.Ed.2d 313 (1985)). However, “if a law neither burdens a fundamental right nor targets a suspect class,” the Supreme Court has held, “the legislative classification [will survive] so long as it bears a rational relation to some legitimate end.” Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620, 631, 116 S.Ct. 1620, 134 L.Ed.2d 855 (1996) (citing Heller v. Doe, 509 U.S. 312, 319–20, 113 S.Ct. 2637, 125 L.Ed.2d 257 (1993)); City of Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 440, 105 S.Ct. 3249 (“The general rule is that legislation is presumed to be valid and will be sustained if the classification drawn by the statute is rationally related to a legitimate state interest.”). In the Equal Protection joust, a court's standard of review is central to this analysis. At play are three specialized lines of thought: rational basis, intermediate scrutiny, and heightened scrutiny. Rational basis is the least austere;

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heightened scrutiny the most arduous.

When conducting rational basis review, the Supreme Court has instructed that “we will not overturn such [government action] unless the varying treatment of different groups or persons is so unrelated to the achievement of any combination of legitimate purposes that we can only conclude that the [government's] actions were irrational.” Kimel v. Fl. Bd. of Regents, 528 U.S. 62, 84, 120 S.Ct. 631, 145 L.Ed.2d 522 (2000) (alterations in original)(internal quotation marks and citation omitted). “In the ordinary case, a law will be sustained if it can be said to advance a legitimate government interest, even if the law seems unwise or works to the disadvantage of a particular group, or if the rationale seems tenuous.” Romer, 517 U.S. at 632, 116 S.Ct. 1620 (citations omitted). If, however, heightened scrutiny, the most unforgiving, is warranted, then a law must be “necessary to the accomplishment” of “a compelling governmental interest.” Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429, 432, 104 S.Ct. 1879, 80 L.Ed.2d 421 (1984).⁶

Plaintiffs submit that Louisiana's constitutional amendment and Civil Code article violate the Equal Protection Clause by prohibiting same-sex marriage within Louisiana, and by declining to recognize same-sex marriages that are lawful in other states. Plaintiffs argue that the laws are subject to heightened scrutiny analysis because they discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender. Defendants counter that the laws trigger rational basis review, which is satisfied by Louisiana's legitimate interest in linking children with intact families formed by their biological parents, and by ensuring that fundamental social change occurs by social consensus through democratic processes. See Windsor, 133 S.Ct. at 2697 (Roberts, C.J., dissenting)(“[F]or it is entirely expected that state definitions would ‘vary, subject to constitutional guarantees, from one State to the next.’ ” (citation omitted)). Defendants point out that over 30 states choose not to recognize same-sex marriages, and some 20 states haven chosen to recognize same-sex marriages in free and open debate through the democratic process. Both sides invoke the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor, 133 S.Ct. 2675 (Kennedy, J., majority opinion). But

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Windsor does little more than give both sides in this case something to hope for.

In Windsor, the Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman only, violated Equal Protection and Due Process principles when applied to New York state law permitting same-sex marriage. Id. at 2693. Observing “DOMA's unusual deviation from the usual tradition of recognizing and accepting state definitions of marriage,” the Court inferred that Congress had acted with a discriminatory purpose. Id. The Court reasoned, to that point, that “ ‘[d]iscriminations of an unusual character especially suggest careful consideration to determine whether they are obnoxious to the constitutional provision.’ ” Id. at 2692 (quoting Romer, 517 U.S. at 633, 116 S.Ct. 1620).⁷

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