[JURIST] South Carolina officials indicated Monday that they would appeal [motion, PDF] a recent decision legalizing same-sex marriage directly to the US Supreme Court, bypassing the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official websites]. The state officials have asked for a stay or continuance on the appeal pending the Supreme Court’s decision whether to grant certiorari in the Michigan [JURIST report] case or any other currently before it. South Carolina’s Attorney General (AG) [official website] argued that staying this decision would preserve judicial economy and stated that if the Supreme Court were to grant the Michigan petition, they may reach a decision that would apply to the South Carolina case as well. The AG argued that if they reach a decision that would impact the current case, several briefs and writs would need to be rewritten in order to be congruent with the Supreme Court decision. The governor was also dismissed as a party to the case.

South Carolina is one of many US states whose same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] bans have been struck down by federal courts. Last month the US Supreme Court refused [JURIST report] a request to block same-sex marriages in South Carolina, making it the thirty-fifth US state where same-sex marriage is legal. Earlier in November a judge for the US District Court for the District of South Carolina [official website] ordered [JURIST report] state officials to stop enforcing South Carolina’s same-sex marriage ban. In October of this year the Supreme Court denied [JURIST report] seven pending same-sex marriage appeals, rejecting calls for a nationwide ruling on same-sex marriage and effectively legalizing same-sex marriage in those states.