Decided

No. 12-307

United States v. Edith Schlain Windsor, in Her Capacity as Executor of the Estate of Thea Clara Spyer, et al.

from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

See other cases from the Second Circuit.

Docket Entries

JUDGMENT ISSUED.

Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Kennedy, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., joined. Roberts, C. J., filed a dissenting opinion. Scalia, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Thomas, J., joined, and in which Roberts, C. J., joined as to Part I. Alito, J. filed a dissenting opinion, in which Thomas, J., joined as to Parts II and III.

Argued. (Juridsiction) - For Court-appointed amicus curiae: Vicki C. Jackson, Cambridge, Mass. For petitioner in support of affirmance: Sri Srinivaasan, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representataives: Paul D. Clement, Washington, D. C. (Merits) - For respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives: Paul D. Clement, Washington, D. C. For petitioner in support of affirmance: Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondent Windsor: Roberta A. Kaplan, New York, N. Y.

Reply of petitioner United States (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Reply of respondent Edith Schlain Windsor, in Her Capacity as Executor of the Estate of Thea Clara Spyer (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Reply of Court-appointed amicus curiae (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Reply of respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Reply of respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Motion for leave to file amici brief out of time filed by former Attorneys General Edwin Meese III and John Ashcroft GRANTED.

Motion for enlargement of time and divided argument GRANTED and the time is to be divided as follows: on the jurisdiction issues, the Court-appointed amicus curiae is allotted 20 minutes, the Solicitor General is allotted 15 minutes, and respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the U.S. House of Representatives is allotted 15 minutes. On the merits, respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the U.S. House of Representatives is allotted 30 minutes, the Solicitor General is allotted 15 minutes, and respondent Windsor is allotted 15 minutes.

Brief of Former Federal Election Commission Officials (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Center for Fair Administration of Taxes (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Family Law Professors, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Anti-Defamation League, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Family and Child Welfare Law Professors (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of National Women's Law Center, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Cato Institute and Constitutional Accountability Center (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of OutServe-SLDN Inc. filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Former Federal Intelligence Officer (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of American Psychological Association, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of American Bar Association (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Hon. Lawrence J. Korb, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Federalism Scholars (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Constitutional Law Scholars (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Honorable John K. Olson (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Justice (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Historians, American Historical Association, et al. filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Scholars of the Constitutional Rights of Children (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of New York, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Honorable John K. Olson (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Los Angeles County Bar Association, et al. filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of 172 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 40 U.S. Senators filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Survivors of Sexual Orientation Change Therapies filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Citizens United's National Committee for Family, Faith and Prayer, et al. (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Partnership for New York City (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Former Senators Bill Bradley, et al. filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Former Senior Justice Department Officials, et al. (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Dr. Donna E. Shalala, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Gary J. Gates (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Political Science Professors filed. (Distributed).

Brief amici curiae of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the States of California, et al. filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of American Jewish Committee (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of American Sociological Association (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Constitutional Law Scholars Bruce Ackerman, et al. (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Organization of American Historians, et al. filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Family Equality Council, et al. (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Empire State Pride Agenda, et al. filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Utah Pride Center, et al. (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of 278 Employers and Organizations Representing Employers (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of American Humanist Association and American Atheists, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Professors Nan D. Hunter, et al. filed. (Distributed)

Motion for leave to file amici brief filed by former Attorneys General Edwin Meese III and John Ashcroft in support of neither party (Jurisdiction) out of time.

Brief amicus curiae of GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LBGT Equality (Gay and Lesbian Medical Association) concerning the immutability of sexual orientation (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Motion for enlargement of time and divided argument filed by the parties and Court-appointed amici curiae.

Brief of respondent Edith Schlain Windsor, in Her Capacity as Executor of the Estate of Thea Clara Spyer (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief of petitioner United States (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Brief of petitioner United States (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief of respondent Edith Schlain Windsor (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Brief of respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Record from U.S.D.C. for Southern District of New York is electronic.

Record from U.S.C.A. for 2nd Circuit is electronic.

Brief amici curiae of The Beverly LaHaye Institute, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of National Association of Evangelicals (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of David Boyle filed. ( Merits) (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Social Science Professors (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Moral Law filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Helen M. Alvare filed. (Merits) VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of United States Senators Orrin G. Hatch, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Dovid Z. Schwartz (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Concerned Women for America (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Matthew B. O'Brien (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Catholic Answers, et al. (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Liberty Counsel (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Indiana and 16 other states (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Robert P. George, et al. (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Citizens United's National Committee for Family, Faith and Prayer, et al. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, Inc. (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Coalition for the Protection of Marriage (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of American Civil Rights Union (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of International jurists and academics (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Manhattan Declaration (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Liberty, Life and Law Foundation, et al. (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Westboro Baptist Church in support of neither party (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amici curiae of Law Professors (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Dr. Paul McHugh (Merits) filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Family Research Council (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of Court-appointed amicus curiae (Jurisdiction) filed. (Distributed)

Brief amicus curiae of National Organization for Marriage (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

CIRCULATED.

Joint appendix filed. (Distributed) (Statement of costs received.)

Brief of respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives (Merits) filed. (Distributed)

Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the petitioner.

The time to file the briefs, on the jurisdictional questions, of the Solicitor General, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives, and Edith Windsor, is extended to and including February 22, 2013.

The time to file the brief, on the jurisdictional questions, of the Court-appointed amicus curiae is extended to and including January 24, 2013.

SET FOR ARGUMENT ON Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Upon consideration of the letter of December 13, 2012, from the Solicitor General on behalf of the litigants and the amicus curiae invited to brief and argue this case, the following briefing schedule is adopted. On the merits, the brief of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives, not to exceed 15,000 words, is to be filed on or before Tuesday, January 22, 2013. The brief of the Solicitor General, not to exceed 15,000 words, is to be filed on or before Friday, February 22, 2013. The brief of Edith Windsor, not to exceed 15,000 words, is to be filed on or before Tuesday, February 26, 2013. The reply brief of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives, not to exceed 6,000 words, is to be filed in accordance with Rule 25.3 of the Rules of this Court. On the jurisdictional questions, the brief of the Court-appointed amicus curiae, not to exceed 10,000 words, is to be filed on or before January 22, 2013. The briefs o...

Other amici curiae briefs shall be filed within the time allowed under Rule 37.3(a) of the Rules of this Court, except that amici curiae briefs on the merits in support of the positions of the Solicitor General and/or Edith Windsor shall be filed within 7 days after the brief of the Solicitor General on the merits is filed. The litigants, Court-appointed amicus curiae, and other amici curiae shall indicate on the cover of each brief filed which issue or issues are addressed in that particular brief in addition to the information required by Rule 37.3 of the Rules of this Court.

Briefing proposal of the parties and Court-appointed amicus curiae filed.

Vicki C. Jackson, Esq., of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is invited to brief and argue this case, as amicus curiae, in support of the positions that the Executive Branch's agreement with the court below that DOMA is unconstitutional deprives this Court of jurisdiction to decide this case, and that the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives lacks Article III standing in this case.

Petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED. In addition to the question presented by the petition, the parties are directed to brief and argue the following questions: Whether the Executive Branch�s agreement with the court below that DOMA is unconstitutional deprives this Court of jurisdiction to decide this case; and whether the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives has Article III standing in this case.

DISTRIBUTED for Conference of December 7, 2012.

DISTRIBUTED for Conference of November 30, 2012.

Reply of petitioner United States filed. (Distributed)

Supplemental brief of respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives filed. VIDED. (Distributed)

Supplemental brief of respondent Edith Schlain Windsor, in Her Capacity as Executor of the Estate of Thea Clara Spyer filed. (Distributed)

DISTRIBUTED for Conference of November 20, 2012.

Supplemental brief of petitioner United States filed.

Brief of respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives in opposition filed.

Judgment entered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Brief of respondent Edith Schlain Windsor, in Her Capacity as Executor of the Estate of Thea Clara Spyer in opposition filed.

Order extending time to file response to petition to and including October 19, 2012, for all respondents.

Petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment filed. (Response due October 11, 2012)

Parties

United States, Petitioner, represented by Donald B. Verrilli Jr.

Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives, Respondent, represented by Paul D. Clement

Edith Schlain Windsor, in Her Capacity as Executor of the Estate of Thea Clara Spyer, Respondent, represented by Roberta A. Kaplan

Amici Curiae

172 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 40 U.S. Senators, Amicus Curiae, represented by Miriam R. Nemetz

278 Employers and Organizations Representing Employers (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Sabin Willett

American Bar Association (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Laurel G. Bellows

American Civil Rights Union (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Peter J. Ferrara

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, et al. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Nicole G. Berner

American Humanist Association and American Atheists, Inc., et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Elizabeth L. Hileman

American Jewish Committee (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Douglas Laycock

American Psychological Association, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by William F. Sheehan

American Sociological Association (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Carmine D. Boccuzzi Jr.

Anti-Defamation League, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Douglas Hallward-Driemeier

Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the States of California, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Jeffrey S. Trachtman

Catholic Answers, et al. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Charles S. Limandri

Cato Institute and Constitutional Accountability Center, Amicus Curiae, represented by Elizabeth B. Wydra

Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence (Jurisdiction), Amicus Curiae, represented by John C. Eastman

Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, et al. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Robert Bradley Lewis

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Alan B. Morrison

Citizens United's National Committee for Family, Faith and Prayer, et al. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Herbert W. Titus

Coalition for the Protection of Marriage (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Monte Neil Stewart

Concerned Women for America, Amicus Curiae, represented by Holly L. Carmichael

Constitutional Law Scholars Bruce Ackerman, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Lori Alvino McGill

Constitutional Law Scholars (Jurisdiction), Amicus Curiae, represented by Andrew J. Pincus

Court-appointed amicus curiae, Amicus Curiae, represented by Vicki C. Jackson

David Boyle, Amicus Curiae, represented by David C. Boyle

Dovid Z. Schwartz, Amicus Curiae, represented by Dovid Zechariah Schwartz

Dr. Donna E. Shalala, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Christopher S. Rhee

Dr. Paul McHugh (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Gerard V. Bradley

Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, Inc. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Lawrence J. Joseph

Empire State Pride Agenda, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Peter T. Barbur

Fair Administration of Taxes (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by A. Lavar Taylor

Family and Child Welfare Law Professors (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Sharon L. Nelles

Family Equality Council, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Katherine Keating

Family Law Professors, et al. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Walter Dellinger

Family Research Council, Amicus Curiae, represented by Paul Benjamin Linton

Federalism Scholars (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Roy T. Englert Jr.

Former Attorneys General Edwin Meese III and John Ashcroft in support of neither party (Jurisdiction) out of time, Amicus Curiae, represented by Jay Alan Sekulow

Former Federal Election Commission Officials (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Trevor Potter

Former Federal Intelligence Officer (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by James F. Segroves

Former Senators Bill Bradley, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Kevin K. Russell

Former Senior Justice Department Officials, et al. (Jurisdiction), Amicus Curiae, represented by Paul R.Q. Wolfson

Foundation for Moral Law, Amicus Curiae, represented by John A. Eidsmoe

Gary J. Gates (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Marjorie P. Lindblom

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Paul M. Smith

GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LBGT Equality (Gay and Lesbian Medical Association) concerning the immutability of sexual orientation (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Nicholas M. O'Donnell

Helen M. Alvare, Amicus Curiae, represented by Helen M. Alvare

Historians, American Historical Association, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Catherine R. Connors

Hon. Lawrence J. Korb, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Carter G. Phillips

Honorable John K. Olson (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by G. Eric Brunstad Jr.

Indiana and 16 other states (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Thomas M. Fisher

Institute for Justice (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Robert J. McNamara

international jurists and academics (merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by W. Cole Durham Jr.

Law Professors (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Lynn Dennis Wardle

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, et al. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Jonathan S. Franklin

Liberty Counsel (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Mathew D. Staver

Liberty, Life and Law Foundation, et al. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Deborah Dewart

Los Angeles County Bar Association, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Anita Susan Brenner

Manhattan Declaration (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by John W. Mauck

Matthew B. O'Brien (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Kristen Kellie Waggoner

NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Elise C. Boddie

National Association of Evangelicals (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Von G. Keetch

National Organization for Marriage (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by William C. Duncan

National Women's Law Center, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by David C. Codell

New York, et al. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Barbara D. Underwood

Organization of American Historians, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Catherine E. Stetson

OutServe-SLDN Inc., Amicus Curiae, represented by Christopher D. Man

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Dean Robert Broyles

Partnership for New York City (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Marc Wolinsky

Political Science Professors, Amicus Curiae, represented by Robert A. Long Jr.

Professors Nan D. Hunter, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Nan D. Hunter

Robert P. George, et al. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Robert P. George

Scholars of the Constitutional Rights of Children (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by J. Robert Brown Jr.

Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders, et al. (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Joseph F. Tringali

Social Science Professors (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Abram J. Pafford

Survivors of Sexual Orientation Change Therapies, Amicus Curiae, represented by Sanford Jay Rosen

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Eric C. Rassbach

The Beverly LaHaye Institute, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Steven W. Fitschen

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Anthony R. Picarello Jr.

United States Senators Orrin Hatch, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Michael L. Stern

United States v. Edith Schlain Windsor, in Her Capacity as Executor of the Estate of Thea Clara Spyer, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Sri Srinivasan

Utah Pride Center, et al., Amicus Curiae, represented by Paul C. Burke

Westboro Baptist Church in support of neither party (Merits), Amicus Curiae, represented by Margie J. Phelps

 
Last updated: February 16, 2016