December 11, 2012

Supreme Court Asks Lawyer To Argue Special DOMA Question

Source: AP via HuffPo

The Supreme Court on Tuesday invited a Massachusetts lawyer to come argue that the justices cannot rule on one of the gay marriage questions it had planned to decide next year.

The court asked lawyer Vicki C. Jackson of Cambridge to join the gay marriage arguments this spring, but she won't be arguing whether it's legal for governments to treat gay Americans differently in issues of marriage. Instead, at the court's invitation, Jackson will be arguing that it's improper for the Supreme Court to even consider making a ruling on a federal law that treats gay married couples differently from heterosexual married couples.

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Jackson was asked by the court to argue "that the Executive Branch's agreement with the court below that DOMA is unconstitutional deprives this court of jurisdiction to decide this case." She will also argue that House Republicans cannot substitute themselves for the Justice Department and therefore they lack "standing in this case."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/11/supreme-court-asks-lawyer_n_2279393.html?ir=Gay+Voices

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As best I understand it, to avoid standing on top of their own heads, the court has asked another lawyer to join the arguments by saying the court has no jurisdiction and that Republicans cannot stand in for the Justice Department if the Justice department has lost interest in the case.

As some commenters have pointed out, this would be the easy way out of DOMA.