Jayne Rowse, left, and April DeBoer at the 6th Circuit Courthouse in Cincinnati, Ohio Aug. 6, where the DeBoer v Snyder Michigan marriage case was heard along with same-sex marriage cases from Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The court has not issueed an opinion yet on the four cases. The outcome may decide whether the U.S. Supreme Court will take up marriage equality in 2015. BTL file photo.
At 5:30 pm on Decision Day for Michigan gather at places across the state – Find a location near you here
The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court Monday (Oct. 6) to decline to hear multiple cases regarding marriage equality will soon result in 30 states and the District of Columbia offering legal same-sex marriage. Michigan, however, remains a state where same-sex marriages are not yet legal.
In light of the rulings, however, experts are eyeing the state's appeal pending before the 6th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals. In that case, the state is arguing a federal district court judge erred when he struck down Michigan's ban in March. For a brief period of less than 24 hours following the ruling by Judge Bernard Friedman, over 300 same-sex couples were able to legally marry in the state.
Experts say the Michigan case could make it to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"DeBoer v Snyder is a case that legal experts have anticipated could reach the Supreme Court because it is the only case that has had a trial," says Sommer Foster, director of political advocacy at Equality Michigan. "We look forward to the 6th Circuit decision, and we hope that the court rules soon. I am not sure of the impact that this decision has on the 6th Circuit, but with 30 states allowing the freedom to marry and an additional 51 million Americans now living in states where folks can marry whom they love, we can see that marriage equality will become a reality in this state sooner or later."
Kari Moss, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan, was more cautious in her analysis of the role the DeBoer case might play in getting a Supreme Court hearing and ruling on the right to marriage equality.
"I hate to try to read tea leaves when it comes to what the Supreme Court might do," she said in a phone interview. However, she said the move by the court Monday morning to refuse to hear the pending cases could have an impact.
"They had an opportunity to take up the question but declined. They essentially have allowed marriage equality in those states," Moss said. "It shows the court has a level of comfort with marriage equality and indicates they did not feel the issue had percolated enough in the states."
Moss said it is not uncommon for the nation's high court to allow significant legal issues to bounce around in the lower courts awaiting distinct splits in the various appeals' circuits before taking up cases.
She said the decision may play a role in the 6th Circuit's decision.
"It's certainly possible the 6th Circuit will consider the Supreme Court decision as relevant in their decision making process," she said.
Moss acknowledged the importance the Michigan case carried because of its extensive legal record.
"The state has to be able to justify the ban with concrete evidence," she said. "They weren't able to do that. They had one expert witness disavowed by the university he was working for and another expert who was rejected by the judge as an expert."
Politically, the decision came the day after Bill Schuette, Michigan's Republican Attorney General, told Michigan Public Radio he expected the court to hear an appeal from the state of Utah. That case was refused by the court.
Schuette's Democratic opponent in the general election, Mark Totten, issued a statement Monday saying the decision by the Supreme Court put Michigan's position banning same-sex marriage "on the wrong side of the Constitution."
