Federal judge orders Arizona to recognize same-sex marriage News
Federal judge orders Arizona to recognize same-sex marriage

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Arizona [official website] on Friday ordered [order] Arizona to issue a death certificate listing the deceased man as married and his same-sex partner as his surviving spouse. District Judge John Sedwick cited rulings in the past year overturning state bans on same-sex marriage in support of his ruling. Plaintiff Fred McQuire asked the court for a temporary restraining order, which would require defendants to recognize the legitimacy of his California marriage to his recently deceased partner George Martinez by requiring the state to prepare and issue a death certificate showing that Martinez was married to McQuire when he died. The court found that McQuire was able to meet the requirements necessary to obtain injunctive relief: he is likely to succeed on the merits; he is likely to suffer irreparable harm without the relief sought; a balancing of the equities tips toward him; and the public interest favors issuance of an injunction.

The debate over same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] is one of the most polarizing issues currently facing the American legal community. Since the US Supreme Court [official website] struck down [JURIST report] section three of the Defense of Marriage Act [text] last year, numerous state and federal courts have ruled on state same-sex marriage bans. Earlier this month the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana [official website] became the first federal court to uphold a state same-sex marriage ban [JURIST report] since the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Windsor. Last week Indiana and Wisconsin each asked [JURIST report] the US Supreme Court to determine if same-sex marriage should be legal in all 50 states. In August the Florida Second District Court of Appeals [official website] issued an opinion calling for a ruling on the constitutionality of the state’s same-sex marriage ban [JURIST report] by the Florida Supreme Court [official website]. The same day the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] dismissed a challenge [JURIST report] by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) [advocacy website] to reinstate Oregon’s same-sex marriage ban, which was ruled unconstitutional [JURIST report] by a federal district court in May. In January four same-sex couples filed a class action lawsuit [JURIST report] in the US District Court for the District of Arizona seeking to overturn the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Currently 19 US states and DC allow same-sex marriage, and more than 70 lawsuits relating to same-sex marriage [Freedom to Marry factsheets] are pending in 32 states.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.