E-mail:
Jack Balkin: jackbalkin at yahoo.com
Bruce Ackerman bruce.ackerman at yale.edu
Ian Ayres ian.ayres at yale.edu
Corey Brettschneider corey_brettschneider at brown.edu
Mary Dudziak mary.l.dudziak at emory.edu
Joey Fishkin joey.fishkin at gmail.com
Heather Gerken heather.gerken at yale.edu
Abbe Gluck abbe.gluck at yale.edu
Mark Graber mgraber at law.umaryland.edu
Stephen Griffin sgriffin at tulane.edu
Jonathan Hafetz jonathan.hafetz at shu.edu
Jeremy Kessler jkessler at law.columbia.edu
Andrew Koppelman akoppelman at law.northwestern.edu
Marty Lederman msl46 at law.georgetown.edu
Sanford Levinson slevinson at law.utexas.edu
David Luban david.luban at gmail.com
Gerard Magliocca gmaglioc at iupui.edu
Jason Mazzone mazzonej at illinois.edu
Linda McClain lmcclain at bu.edu
John Mikhail mikhail at law.georgetown.edu
Frank Pasquale pasquale.frank at gmail.com
Nate Persily npersily at gmail.com
Michael Stokes Paulsen michaelstokespaulsen at gmail.com
Deborah Pearlstein dpearlst at yu.edu
Rick Pildes rick.pildes at nyu.edu
David Pozen dpozen at law.columbia.edu
Richard Primus raprimus at umich.edu
K. Sabeel Rahmansabeel.rahman at brooklaw.edu
Alice Ristroph alice.ristroph at shu.edu
Neil Siegel siegel at law.duke.edu
David Super david.super at law.georgetown.edu
Brian Tamanaha btamanaha at wulaw.wustl.edu
Nelson Tebbe nelson.tebbe at brooklaw.edu
Mark Tushnet mtushnet at law.harvard.edu
Adam Winkler winkler at ucla.edu
The noted copyright theorist Siva Vaidhyanathanasks whether if the Massachusetts courts hold that the state may not refuse marriage to same sex couples, this will have ramifications around the country under the federal constitution. The answer is that the decision would probably be rendered under the Massachusetts constitution, and therefore would not directly affect the construction of the Federal Constitution. If for some reason the Federal Constitution were invoked as a justification, the court will probably also find independent grounds under the Massachusetts Constitution to prevent an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Siva's other question has to do with the effect of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. The Defense of Marriage Act is designed to alleviate any responsibility that other states might have for recognizing same-sex marriage if one state legalizes it.
Siva wants to know if the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV, section 2 would require states to recognize same sex marriages despite DOMA.
The Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV, section 2 does not apply because a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage is not treating outsiders from other states differently than it treats its own citizens, who cannot engage in same-sex marriages.
It is more likely that if DOMA is unconstitutional it is because of the Full Faith and Credit Clause of Article IV section 1, which provides that "Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, and Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State." Although the Supreme Court has held that divorces are "judgments" that must be recognized in all states, unless the state of divorce lacked subject matter jurisdiction, Williams v. North Carolina, 317 U.S. 287 (1942), it has never held the same for marriages. However, marriages are arguably "acts" or "records" for Full Faith and Credit Purposes. If so, then one important question is whether the Clause means what it says or whether states may refuse to give recognition to marriages that violate their public policy. This question is unsettled.
Assuming that marriages are "acts" and that there is no public policy exception, then DOMA arguably allows States to refuse to give effect to rights protected by Article IV of the Constitution, and is therefore unconstitutional. Nevertheless, the next sentence of Article IV, section 1 states that "And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records, and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof." Supporters of DOMA could argue that Congress is merely refusing to give effect to same-sex marriages or other forms of domestic partnership. The problem with this argument is that if Congress can by legislation let states refuse to give same-sex marriages any effect at all, (as to opposed to specifying the nature of the effect) it has undermined the purpose of the Full Faith and Credit Clause. This question is also unsettled. Congress has invoked its powers under the Clause to require states to give effect to certain judgments (e.g., child support judgments) but the question is whether it may permit states to refuse to give any effect at all to out of state judgments.
We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there. Agen Judi Online Terpercaya