>> Supreme Court rejects Louisiana gay marriage case, takes no action on four others
Les neuf juges suprêmes ont refusé d’examiner le recours «avant jugement» de couples en Louisiane qui demandaient que la haute Cour déclare inconstitutionnelle l’interdiction du mariage pour les homosexuel dans l’État. Leur plainte étant en cours d’examen devant une cour d’appel du sud du pays, les neuf juges ont probablement décidé d’attendre que celle-ci se prononce avant de donner un avis.
S’agissant des quatre autres recours qui sont sur sa table, la Cour suprême a gardé le silence lundi, réservant son annonce vraisemblablement pour vendredi, quand elle se réunira à nouveau à huis clos.
Ces quatre affaires sont différentes, car elles ont déjà été jugées par une cour d’appel, qui pour la première fois a donné son aval à l’interdiction du “mariage homosexuel” dans quatre États, alors qu’il est légal dans la majorité du pays.
La haute Cour peut donc encore se saisir d’un ou plusieurs recours concernant la situation au Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee et Kentucky, mais sa décision pourrait avoir un impact sur les quatorze États qui interdisent aux couples de même sexe de se marier.
La haute Cour doit se décider avant fin janvier si elle veut examiner la question durant la session en cours, pour entendre les parties au printemps et rendre une décision fin juin.
Après sa décision historique de juin 2013, qui avait invalidé une loi fédérale stipulant que le mariage était réservé à un homme et une femme, la plus haute juridiction doit se demander si la Constitution américaine garantit aux conjoints homosexuels le droit de se marier.
Aux États-Unis, où les lois sur le mariage sont du ressort des États fédérés, le mariage gai est désormais autorisé dans 36 États sur 50, ainsi que dans la capitale fédérale Washington, soit sur un territoire qui réunit 70 % de la population.
>> The U.S. Supreme Court will not consider Louisiana’s gay marriage case in this term, the justices decided Monday.
The decision means the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans can continue to consider an appeal from seven gay couples challenging the state’s 2004 ban on gay marriage. A panel of three appeals court judges heard arguments from both sides in the case Friday.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to take the case while the 5th Circuit ruling is pending is not surprising, said Kyle Duncan, the lawyer defending Louisiana’s marriage laws. Lawyers for both sides had petitioned the court for a hearing, Duncan said, because it appeared likely the justices would take up the issue of gay marriage this term.
“If the Supreme Court is going to get involved, we wanted to get in the mix,” Duncan said Monday. “It’s not surprising that they didn’t take Louisiana’s case, because the court rarely takes cases that are still before the Court of Appeals.”
The Supreme Court has not decided yet, however, whether to take any of four other gay marriage cases from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, which have already gone through initial appeals. The justices could decide later this week to accept one or more of those cases for argument.
Court observers expect the Supreme Court will take up the issue of gay marriage for their spring term. The justices in October declined to review cases from three appeals court jurisdictions, all of them rulings in which gay marriage bans had been struck down. By not reviewing those cases, the court let stand decisions legalizing gay marriage in several states.
But the four cases the court is still considering this week come from states in the 6th Circuit, which in November upheld gay marriage bans. That created opposite rulings from different appeals courts, a discrepancy that most experts think the Supreme Court must now address.
The justices decision not to take the Louisiana case didn’t surprise Chris Otten, chair-elect of the Forum For Equality, a Louisiana gay rights group that is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“I don’t think anyone should read anything into it,” he said. “I would have liked for (the Supreme Court) to look at Louisiana’s case, but ultimately, this is about getting the right decision, whichever case they use.”
If the Supreme Court takes up any of the other gay marriage cases, it’s unclear whether the 5th Circuit judges would wait for the justices to rule or issue their own opinion in the meantime, Otten said. If the 5th Circuit rules in favor of Louisiana’s ban, Otten said the plaintiffs would appeal to the Supreme Court.
If Louisiana’s ban was struck down, Duncan said the state would likely appeal, either for a hearing in front of the full roster of 5th Circuit judges or to the Supreme Court. In either case, the state would seek a stay to prevent same-sex couples from marrying while the appeal was pending.
AFP
