In re Marriage Cases

• February 2004 Officials of the city and county of San Francisco conclude it violates the California Constitution to withhold marriage licenses from same-sex couples; from mid-February to mid-March, San Francisco issues licenses and performs marriages for roughly 4,000 same-sex couples.
• February 2004 Conservative religious legal groups file two lawsuits against San Francisco demanding court orders to stop the marriages; Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU are given permission to join those cases on behalf of same-sex couples who wish to marry and Equality California.
• February 2004 Gay activists Robin Tyler and Troy Perry and their respective life partners sue Los Angeles County demanding marriage licenses; we are given permission to intervene in this case on behalf of Equality California.
• March 2004 The California Supreme Court orders San Francisco to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples until it has been decided in court whether the state constitution guarantees lesbian and gay couples’ right to marry as it does for heterosexual couples. Lambda Legal and cocounsel immediately file our own lawsuit against the state seeking the right of same-sex couples to marry throughout California.
• June 2004 The California Judicial Council orders that the six active cases in the state courts concerning marriage for same-sex couples be gathered into one judicial proceeding in the trial court in San Francisco; along with cocounsel, we are participating in four of those cases.
• August 2004 The California Supreme Court invalidates the marriages of the thousands of same-sex couples who had married in San Francisco, without resolving the question in our main case: whether the California Constitution guarantees same-sex couples an equal right to marry.
• March 2005 In a historic ruling, the California state trial court says that, under the state’s constitution, lesbian and gay couples must be allowed to marry.
• November 2005 Lambda Legal, NCLR and ACLU file briefs in the California Court of Appeal urging the court to uphold lower court’s ruling.
• July 2006 Oral arguments made before California Court of Appeals.
• October 2006 In a 2–1 decision, California Court of Appeal rules that California may continue to bar same-same couples from marriage.
• November 2006 Petitions are filed asking California Supreme Court to reverse the Court of Appeal decision.
• December 2006 The California Supreme Court unanimously agrees to review the intermediate appellate decision.
• April – August 2007 Lambda Legal, NCLR and the ACLU file multiple briefs explaining why denying lesbian and gay couples the freedom to marry is unconstitutional. We also file a supplemental brief requested by the California Supreme Court addressing four additional questions. In addition, we reply to the briefs filed by the state and the conservative religious legal groups on these questions.
• September 2007 A broad array of mainstream civil rights, religious, community and professional groups, along with leading legal scholars and bar associations, plus California’s largest cities and many others file an unprecedented 30 friend-of-the-court briefs on behalf of more than 500 organizations supporting marriage equality.
• November 2007 Lambda Legal, NCLR and the ACLU file brief answering the 15 friend-of-the-court briefs filed by opponents of marriage for same-sex couples.
• March 2008 A remarkable three hours of oral argument are presented before the California Supreme Court.
• May 2008 The California Supreme Court issues an historic ruling that California's laws excluding lesbian and gay couples from civil marriage violate the state Constitution, by denying these couples their fundamental right to marry and by discriminating against them in violation of the equal protection clause.
• March 2008 Oral arguments presented before the California Supreme Court.
• May 2008 Victory! In a history-making 4-3 decision, the California Supreme Court rules that barring lesbian and gay couples from marriage violates the state Constitution. Conservative religious groups ask the court to delay the decision's effect until after the November election, arguing voters may approve an initiative to change the Constitution and reverse the decision. We oppose this request, as does California's Attorney General.
• June 2008 California Supreme Court denies conservative religious groups’ requests for delay, ordering that the marriage ruling shall take effect on June 16, 2008 at 5 pm. Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon become the first same-sex couple to marry in California with a duly issued license, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom solemnizing their union for a second time. Thousands of lesbian and gay couples follow their example in all corners of the state, with many coming from other states and countries to take their vows with California’s welcome.
• November 2008 Prop 8 is approved by 52 percent of California voters. Changing the California state constitution to exclude marriage for same-sex couples, Prop 8 strips away the fundamental right affirmed by the California Supreme Court in May 2008.

Respondents' Opening Brief on the Merits (10/28/2011)

Respondent's Opening Brief on the Merits (10/28/2011)

Application for Permission to File an Amicus Curiae Brief and Brief of Amici Curiae Asian American Bar Association for the Greater Bay Area and 62 Asian Pacific American Organizations in Support of Respondents Challenging the Marriage Exclusion (10/28/2011)

Respondents Consolidated Answer Brief Regarding Justiciability (10/28/2011)

Respondents' Consolidated Supplemental Reply Brief (10/28/2011)

Corrected Reply Brief of Woo Petitioners in Support of Petition for Writ of Mandate on Third Amended Complaint (10/28/2011)

Respondents' Consolidated Reply Brief on the Merits (10/28/2011)

Respondents' Supplemental Brief (10/28/2011)

Respondents' Consolidated Answer to Amicus Curiae Briefs (10/28/2011)

Respondents' Answer to Petition for Rehearing (10/28/2011)

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

The Civil Rights Clinic at Howard University School of Law Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

MALDEF and Other Civil Rights Organizations Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Asian Pacific Islander Groups Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

California Cities and Counties Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Religious Organizations and Religiously Affiliated Individuals Brief (10/28/2011)

American Psychological Association Brief (10/28/2011)

American Psychoanalytic Society Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Bar Associations Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Bar Association of San Francisco Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Santa Clara County Bar Association Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

California Legislators Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Family Law Professors Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

International Human Rights Clinic, University of Toronto Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Professors Kathleen Sullivan and Pam Karlan Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Professor William Eskridge Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Professor Jesse Choper Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Professor Joseph Grodin Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Professor M.V. Lee Badgett & Senior Research Fellow Gary J. Gates Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Legal Momentum, ERA, California Women's Law Center Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Southern Poverty Law Center Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Equal Justice Society Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Council for Secular Humanism and Center for Inquiry Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Out and Equal Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Anti-Defamation League & LGBT Community Centers Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

GLAD and The Equality Federation Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

People for the American Way and LGBT Bar Associations and Civil Rights Organizations Amicus Brief (10/28/2011)

Amicus Curiae Brief Filed in Support of Same-Sex Couples' Right to Marry (10/28/2011)

Brief of Amici Curiae Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach and 29 API Organizations in Support of Respondents in the California Marriage Cases (10/28/2011)

Amici Curiae Brief Filed in Support of Same-Sex Couples' Right to Marry (10/28/2011)

Application to File Brief of Amicus Curiae California NAACP; Brief of Amicus Curiae California NAACP in Support of Respondents (10/28/2011)

Application to File Amici Curiae Brief in Support of Respondents and [Proposed] Amici Curiae Brief of Amici Concerned with Women's Rights (10/28/2011)

Amici Curiae Brief of Law Related Organizations and Institutions and Human Rights Groups (10/28/2011)

Respondents' Corrected Answering Brief (10/28/2011)

Application for Leave to File Brief of Amici Curiae in Support of Respondent and [Proposed] Amici Curiae Brief (10/28/2011)

Amici Curiae Brief Filed in Support of Same-Sex Couples' Right to Marry (10/28/2011)

Decision California Supreme Court In re Marriage Cases (10/28/2011)

Decision from the California Court of Appeals (10/28/2011)

Decision from the Superior Court of the State of California (10/28/2011)