Last month, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled that, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on DOMA, New Jersey was in violation of the state's constitutional guarantee to equal rights and that same sex couples should have the right to marry in New Jersey. Governor Chris Christie (R), who last year vetoed a bill legalizing same sex marriage, immediately filed an appeal to the State Supreme Court to block these marriages from happening.
On Friday, the State Supreme Court ruled that, while oral arguments would be heard in January on Mr. Christie's appeal, in the meantime, he could not stop same sex marriages from going forward.
In the Court's decision, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote: "The State has advanced a number of arguments, but none of them overcome this reality: same sex couples who cannot marry are not treated equally under the law today...The State has not shown a reasonable probability that it will succeed on the merits (of the appeal)...When a party presents a clear case of ongoing unequal treatment, and asks the court to vindicate constitutionally protected rights, a court may not sidestep its obligation to rule for an indefinite amount of time. Under those circumstances, courts do not have the option to defer."
This decision does not bode well for Gov. Christie's scheduled appeal.
No comments:
Post a Comment