Court Cases

Race, Gender, and Justice State Cases

Perez v. Lippold, 198 P.2d 17 (California Supreme Court, 1948): The court invalidated the state law barring different-race marriage as a violation of the equal protection clause. This was the first reported case invalidating an anti-miscegenation law.
Naim v. Naim, 87 S.E.2d 749 (Virginia Supreme Court, 1955), remanded, 350 U.S. 891 (U.S. Supreme Court, 1955), reaffirming original holding, 90 S.E.2d 849 (Virginia Supreme Court, 1956), appeal dismissed, 350 U.S. 985 (U.S. Supreme Court, 1956).: The court upheld the state law barring different-race marriage. The Supreme Court remanded in light of its antisegregation decisions but the state court successfully stuck with its original holding and the Supreme Court backed down.
Anonymous v. Anonymous, 325 N.Y.S.2d 499 (New York Supreme Court, 1971).: The court refused to recognize the marriage of a man and a male transvestite whom the first man had mistaken for a woman.
Baker v. Nelson, 191 N.W.2d 185 (Minnesota Supreme Court, 1971), appeal dismissed, 409 U.S. 810 (U.S. Supreme Court, 1972).: This was the first reported case in which an American court confronted, and denied, a claim by a same-sex couple that they were entitled to the same marriage rights as different-sex couples. The court rejected the claims under both state law and the U.S. Constitution.
Jones v. Hallahan, 501 S.W.2d 588 (Kentucky Court of Appeals, 1973).: The court upheld against federal constitutional attack Kentucky's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples. The court held that marriage cannot include same-sex couples as a matter of definition.
Singer v. Hara, 522 P.2d 1187 (Washington Court of Appeals, 1974), review denied, 84 Wash. 2d 1008 (Washington Supreme Court, 1974).: The court upheld against state and federal constitutional attack Washington's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples. This was the first reported case to reject an argument that denying same-sex couples the right to marry is sex discrimination in violation of the state constitution's equal rights amendment.
M. T. v. J.T., 355 A.2d 204 (New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, 1976).: The court held that a male-to-female transsexual could marry a male; the court counted the transsexual as a female, hence preserving marriage as inherently man-woman.
Israel v. Allen, 577 P.2d 762 (Colorado Supreme Court, 1978).: The court invalidated the state's prohibition of marriage by adoptive siblings as a violation of the due process clause.
De Santo v. Barnsley, 476 A.2d 952 (Pennsylvania Superior Court, 1984).: The court held that common-law marriage cannot include same-sex couples for the same reasons they are excluded from statutory marriage.
Coon v. Joseph, 237 Cal. Rptr. 873 (California Court of Appeals, First District, 1987).: The court held that same-sex couples are not entitled to the same rights as married couples to sue for emotional distress resulting from injuries to one of the partners.
In re Landrach, 573 N.E.2d 828 (Ohio Probate Court, 1987).: The court held that a male-to-female transsexual cannot marry a male because that would amount to a prohibited same-sex marriage.
In re Succession of Bacot, 502 So.2d 1118 (Louisiana Court of Appeals, 1987), writ denied, 503 So. 2d 466 (Louisiana Supreme Court, 1987).: In response to claims that the decedent's male lover must be limited to one-tenth of the estate because he was living in "concubinage" with the decedent, the court held that two men cannot live in concubinage for the same definitional reason they cannot marry.
Braschi v. Stahl Associates, 74 N.Y.2d 201 (New York Court of Appeals, 1989).: The court held that New York statutory law allows a committed same-sex partner to inherit rights to a rent-controlled apartment upon the death of the other partner. The statue allowed rights to any close "family member" living with the deceased, and the court found that same-sex couples could be a "family."
Alison D. v. Virginia M., 572 N.E.2d 27 (New York Court of Appeals, 1991).: Declining to expand upon Braschi, the court refused to require visitation rights to a child for the same-sex partner of the child's biological mother.
In re Kowalski, 478 N.W.2d 790 (Minnesota Court of Appeals, 1991).: The court held that a same-sex partner can be appointed guardian for an incapacitated partner. The prior guardian had been the father of the incapacitated partner.
Gajovski v. Gajovski, 610 N.E.2d 431 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1991).: In response to a petition to terminate his alimony payments to a former wife because she was living in "concubinage," the court held that a woman could not live in concubinage with another woman for the same definitional reasons she could not marry another woman.
Commonwealth v. Wasson, 842 S.W.2d 487 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 1992).: The court held that the state's sodomy law violates both the right to privacy and the equal protection clause of the state constitution. This is the first state court to hold that a statute classifying on the basis of sexual orientation is a discrimination that is subject to strict judicial scrutiny.
Baehr v. Lewin, 852 P.2d 44 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1993), clarified in response to the state's motion for reconsideration, 852 P.2d 74 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1993).: The court held that the state's denial of marrriage rights to same-sex couples is discriminatory under the state constitution's equal rights amendment and remanded the case for trial to determine whether the discrimination could be justified by a compelling state interest.
Callender v. Corbett, No. 296666 (Arizona Superior Court, Pima County, April 13, 1994).: The court upheld against state and federal constitutional attack the state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Dean v. District of Columbia, 653 A.2d 307 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1995).: The court interpreted the District's marriage law to deny marriage rights to same-sex couples and further interpreted the District's human rights law (which prohibits any sex or sexual orientation discrimination) to permit discrimination against same-sex couples. A divided court rejected federal constitutional attacks on the law.
Bottoms v. Bottoms, 457 S.E.2d 102 (Virginia Supreme Court, 1995).: The court held that a lesbian mother involved in a committed same-sex relationship is presumptively unfit to have custody of her biological child. The court ordered custody of the child to be vested in the mother of the biological mother (i.e., the child's biological grandmother).

Created 10/9/97
Michael Suh