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12-307 EQCF Doc #1 Filed 09/11/2012

No. 12-307

In the Supreme Court of the United States

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PETITIONER v. EDITH SCHLAIN WINDSOR


ON PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI
BEFORE JUDGMENT TO THE UNITED STATES
COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI


BEFORE JUDGMENT

DONALD B. VERRILLI, JR. Solicitor General Counsel of Record STUART F. DELERY Acting Assistant Attorney General SRI SRINIVASAN Deputy Solicitor General PRATIK A. SHAH Assistant to the Solicitor General MICHAEL JAY SINGER AUGUST E. FLENTJE HELEN L. GILBERT Attorneys Department of Justice Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 SupremeCtBriefs@usdoj.gov (202) 514-2217

QUESTION PRESENTED

Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defines the term marriage for all purposes under federal law, including the provision of federal benefits, as only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. 1 U.S.C. 7. It similarly defines the term spouse as a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. Ibid. The question presented is: Whether Section 3 of DOMA violates the Fifth Amendments guarantee of equal protection of the laws as applied to persons of the same sex who are legally married under the laws of their State.

(I)

PARTIES TO THE PROCEEDING

Petitioner, who was a defendant in the district court and is an appellant in the court of appeals, is the United States of America. Respondent, who was plaintiff in the district court and is an appellee in the court of appeals, is Edith Schlain Windsor. The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives intervened to present arguments in defense of the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA.

(II)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Opinion below . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Constitutional and statutory provisions involved . . . . . . . . . 2 Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Reasons for granting the petition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Appendix A Order (June 6, 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1a Appendix B Judgment (June 7, 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . 23a Appendix C Govt notice of appeal (June 14, 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25a Appendix D Intervenors notice of appeal (June 8, 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27a Appendix E Constitutional and statutory provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30a
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases: Baehr v. Lewin, 852 P.2d 44 (Haw. 1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2


Baker v. Nelson: 409 U.S. 810 (1972) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
191 N.W.2d 185 (Minn. 1971) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Camreta v. Greene, 131 S. Ct. 2020 (2011) . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Hernandez v. Robles, 855 N.E.2d 1 (N.Y. 2006) . . . . . . . 7
INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919 (1983) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 12
Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

(III)

IV
CasesContinued: Page

Massachusetts v. United States Dept of Health &


Human Servs., 682 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2012),
petitions for cert. pending, Nos. 12-13 (filed
June 29, 2012), 12-15 (filed July 3, 2012), and 12 97 (filed July 20, 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Constitution and statutes: U.S. Const.:
Art. III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Amend. V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 6, 10
Defense of Marriage Act, Pub. L. No. 104-199,
110 Stat. 2419 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2, 110 Stat. 2419 (28 U.S.C. 1738C) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3, 110 Stat. 2419 (1 U.S.C. 7) . . . . . . . . . . . . passim
26 U.S.C. 2056(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 4
28 U.S.C. 530D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
28 U.S.C. 1254 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
28 U.S.C. 1291 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Marriage Equality Act, 2011 N.Y. Sess. Laws ch. 95
(A.8354) (McKinney) (N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law 10-a
(McKinney Supp. 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Miscellaneous: Eugene Gressman et al., Supreme Court Practice
(9th ed. 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
H.R. Rep. No. 664, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. (1996) . . . . . 3, 8

V
MiscellaneousContinued: Page

Letter from Eric H. Holder, Jr., Atty Gen., to John A. Boehner, Speaker, House of Representatives (Feb. 23, 2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5 U.S. Gen. Accounting Office, Report No. GAO-04 353R, Defense of Marriage Act: Update to Prior Report (2004), http://www.gao.gov/assets/100/ 92441.pdf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

In the Supreme Court of the United States

No. 12-307
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PETITIONER
v. EDITH SCHLAIN WINDSOR
ON PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI
BEFORE JUDGMENT TO THE UNITED STATES
COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI


BEFORE JUDGMENT

The Solicitor General, on behalf of the United States of America, respectfully petitions for a writ of certiorari before judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
OPINION BELOW

The opinion of the district court (App., infra, 1a-22a) is reported at 833 F. Supp. 2d 394.
JURISDICTION

The judgment of the district court was entered on June 6, 2012. Notices of appeal were filed on June 8, 2012, and June 14, 2012 (App., infra, 25a-26a, 27a-29a). The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked under 28 U.S.C. 1254(1) and 28 U.S.C. 2101(e).

(1)

CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY


PROVISIONS INVOLVED

Pertinent constitutional and statutory provisions are set forth in the appendix to this petition. App., infra, 30a.
STATEMENT

1. a. Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA or Act) in 1996. Pub. L. No. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419. DOMA contains two principal provisions. The first, Section 2 of the Act, provides that no State is re quired to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of another State that treats a relationship between two persons of the same sex as a marriage un der its laws. DOMA 2, 110 Stat. 2419 (28 U.S.C. 1738C). The second provision, Section 3, which is at issue in this case, defines marriage and spouse for all pur poses under federal law to exclude marriages between persons of the same sex, including marriages recognized under state law. Section 3 provides: In determining the meaning of any Act of Con gress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word marriage means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word spouse refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. DOMA 3, 110 Stat. 2419 (1 U.S.C. 7). b. Congress enacted DOMA in response to the Ha waii Supreme Courts decision in Baehr v. Lewin, 852 P.2d 44 (1993), which held that the denial of marriage

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licenses to same-sex couples was presumptively invalid under the Hawaii Constitution. H.R. Rep. No. 664, 104th Cong., 2d Sess. 2 (1996) (1996 House Report). Although Hawaii ultimately did not permit same-sex marriage, other States later recognized such marriages under their respective laws. See Massachusetts v. United States Dept of Health & Human Servs., 682 F.3d 1, 6 nn.1 & 2 (1st Cir. 2012), petitions for cert. pending, Nos. 12-13 (filed June 29, 2012), 12-15 (filed July 3, 2012), and 12-97 (filed July 20, 2012). Although Section 3 of DOMA does not purport to invalidate same-sex marriages in those States that per mit them, it excludes such marriages from recognition for purposes of more than 1000 federal statutes and pro grams whose administration turns in part on individuals marital status. See U.S. Gen. Accounting Office, Report No. GAO-04-353R, Defense of Marriage Act: Update to Prior Report 1 (2004), http://www.gao.gov/assets/100/ 92441.pdf (GAO Report) (identifying 1138 federal laws that are contingent on marital status or in which marital status is a factor). Section 3 of DOMA thus denies to legally married same-sex couples many substantial ben efits otherwise available to legally married opposite-sex couples under federal employment, immigration, public health and welfare, tax, and other laws. See id. at 16-18. 2. In 2007, plaintiff married Thea Spyer, her samesex partner of more than 40 years, in Canada. The cou ple resided in New York. When Spyer died in 2009, she left her estate for plaintiff s benefit. App., infra, 3a; Am. Compl. 10, 11. In her capacity as executor of Spyers estate, plain tiff paid approximately $363,000 in federal estate taxes. She thereafter filed a refund claim under 26 U.S.C. 2056(a), which provides that property that passes from

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a decedent to a surviving spouse may generally pass free of federal estate taxes. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) denied the refund claim on the ground that plain tiff is not a spouse within the meaning of DOMA Sec tion 3 and thus not a surviving spouse within the meaning of Section 2056(a). App., infra, 3a-4a; Am. Compl. 72-78. Plaintiff filed this suit challenging the constitutional ity of DOMA Section 3 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She con tended that, by treating married same-sex couples in New York differently from opposite-sex couples, Section 3, as applied by the IRS, violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment. She sought declar atory and injunctive relief, as well as recovery of the $363,053 in federal estate taxes paid by Spyers estate. App., infra, 4a; Am. Compl. 82-85. 3. After plaintiff filed her complaint, the Attorney General sent a notification to Congress under 28 U.S.C. 530D that he and the President had determined that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional as applied to same-sex couples who are legally married under state law. Letter from Eric H. Holder, Jr., Atty Gen., to John A. Boehner, Speaker, House of Representatives (Feb. 23, 2011) (Attorney General Letter).1 The letter explained that, while the Department of Justice had pre viously defended Section 3 if binding precedent in the circuit required application of rational basis review to classifications based on sexual orientation, the President and the Department of Justice had conducted a new ex amination of the issue after two lawsuits (this one and
1:10-cv-08435 Docket entry No. 10 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 25, 2011). Text also available at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/February/11-ag 223.html.
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Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management, petition for cert. before judgment pending, No. 12-231 (filed Aug. 21, 2012)) had been filed in a circuit that had yet to address the appropriate standard of review. Attorney General Letter 1-2. The Attorney General explained that, after examining factors this Court has identified as relevant to the applicable level of scrutiny, including the history of discrimination against gay and lesbian individ uals and the relevance of sexual orientation to legitimate policy objectives, he and the President had concluded that Section 3 warrants application of heightened scru tiny rather than rational basis review. Id. at 2-4. The Attorney General further explained that both he and the President had concluded that Section 3 fails that stan dard of review and is therefore unconstitutional. Id. at 4-5. The Attorney Generals letter reported that, notwith standing this determination, the President had in structed Executive agencies to continue to comply with Section 3 of DOMA, consistent with the Executives obli gation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, unless and until Congress repeals Section 3 or the judi cial branch renders a definitive verdict against the laws constitutionality. Attorney General Letter 5. The At torney General explained that [t]his course of action respects the actions of the prior Congress that enacted DOMA, and it recognizes the judiciary as the final arbi ter of the constitutional claims raised. Ibid. In the interim, the Attorney General instructed the Depart ments lawyers to cease defense of Section 3. Id. at 5-6. Finally, the Attorney General noted that the Depart ments lawyers would take appropriate steps to pro vid[e] Congress a full and fair opportunity to partici

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pate in litigation concerning the constitutionality of Section 3. Id. at 6. Following the Attorney Generals announcement, respondent Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives (BLAG), a fivemember bipartisan leadership group, moved to inter vene to present arguments in defense of the constitu tionality of Section 3.2 The district court granted the motion. 6/2/11 Mem. & Order 1; see App., infra, 4a. Both BLAG and the government moved to dismiss plaintiff s challenge to the constitutionality of Section 3. While BLAG presented arguments in support of Section 3s constitutionality, the government explained that it was filing a motion to dismiss plaintiff s constitutional claim solely for purposes of ensuring that the court had Article III jurisdiction to enter judgment for or against the federal officials tasked with enforcing Section 3. The governments brief on the merits set forth its view that heightened scrutiny applies to Section 3 of DOMA and that, under that standard of review, Section 3 vio lates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amend ment. Govt Resp. to Pl. Mot. for Summ. J. and Inter venors Mot. to Dismiss 4-27 (Aug. 19, 2011). 4. The district court denied the motions to dismiss and granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiff, concluding that Section 3 of DOMA violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment. App., infra, 1a-22a. As a preliminary matter, the district court rejected BLAGs argument that plaintiff lacks Article III stand ing because she had failed to prove that New York recTwo of the groups five members declined to support intervention. BLAG Mot. to Intervene 1 n.1 (Apr. 18, 2011).
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ognized her marriage in 2009, the relevant tax year, and thus had failed to establish that her injuries were trace able to Section 3 of DOMA. App., infra, 6a-8a. The court acknowledged the New York Court of Appeals decision in Hernandez v. Robles, 855 N.E.2d 1, 6 (2006), which held that New York statutory law clearly limit [ing] marriage to opposite-sex couples was not invalid under the New York Constitution. See App., infra, 6a.3 The district court noted, however, that all three state wide elected officials and every state court to address the issue had concluded that principles of comity require recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. Id. at 6a-7a. The district court also rejected BLAGs threshold argument that plaintiff s equal protection challenge is foreclosed by this Courts summary dismissal of the ap peal in Baker v. Nelson, 409 U.S. 810 (1972), which sought review of the Minnesota Supreme Courts deci sion upholding the constitutionality of a state statute interpreted to limit marriage to persons of the opposite sex, see Baker v. Nelson, 191 N.W.2d 185, 185-187 (1971). The district court explained that Section 3, un like the statute at issue in Baker, does not preclude or otherwise inhibit a state from authorizing same-sex mar riage (or issuing marriage licenses), but instead de fines marriage for federal purposes, with the effect of allocating federal rights and benefits. App., infra, 9a. The court concluded that Baker therefore did not nec essarily decide[] the question of whether DOMA vioIn 2011, New York passed legislation permitting individuals of the same sex to marry in the State. Marriage Equality Act, 2011 N.Y. Sess. Laws ch. 95 (A.8354) (McKinney) (N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law 10-a (McKinney Supp. 2012)).
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lates the Fifth Amendments Equal Protection Clause. Ibid. The district court assumed without deciding that laws that draw distinctions on the basis of sexual orien tation are subject to rational basis review. App., infra, 13a. The court also expressed the view that the nature of such review can vary by context: while [l]aws such as economic or tax legislation that are scrutinized under rational basis review will normally pass constitutional muster, laws that exhibit[] . . . a desire to harm a politically unpopular group receive a more searching form of rational basis review. Ibid. (quoting Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 579-580 (2003) (OConnor, J., con curring)). Without deciding whether a more searching form of rational basis scrutiny is required, the district court held that Section 3 is invalid under rational basis review. App., infra, 14a.4 The court concluded that neither the legislative purposes articulated in support of Section 3 at the time of its enactment (see 1996 House Report 12) nor additional interests offered by BLAG bear a rational relationship to a legitimate governmental objective. App., infra, 15a-22a. The district court first determined that Section 3 does not advance a federal governmental interest in maintain[ing] the definition of marriage that was uniIn its response to plaintiffs certiorari petition in this case, BLAG contends that the district court adopted a novel standard of constitu tional review involving intensified scrutiny, a level of scrutiny between ordinary rational-basis and intermediate scrutiny. BLAG No. 12-63 Br. in Opp. 8-9. That is incorrect. As noted above, the district court held Section 3 invalid under rational-basis review [r]egardless whether a more searching form of rational basis scrutiny is required. App., infra, 14a (emphasis added).
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versally accepted in American law, App., infra, 16a (brackets in original; citation omitted), whether provi sionally or otherwise, because it does not affect the state laws that govern marriage, ibid. Nor could the court discern a logical relationship between Section 3 and a governmental interest in [p]romoting the ideal family structure for raising children, id. at 18a, since Section 3 has no effect at all on the types of family structures in which children in this country are raised, id. at 19a. The district court also rejected BLAGs argument that Congress might have enacted Section 3 to ensure that federal benefits are distributed consistently, with out regard to differences between state marriage laws. App., infra, 19a-20a. The court reasoned that, although Section 3 is link[ed] to that goal, the means used in this instance intrude upon the states business of regu lating domestic relations and therefore cannot be legit imate. Id. at 20a. Finally, the district court concluded that the govern ments interest in conserving government resources alone is insufficient to justify the classification used in allocating those resources. App., infra, 21a-22a (quot ing Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, 227 (1982)). 5. Both BLAG and the government filed timely no tices of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. App., infra, 25a-26a (government notice of appeal); id. at 27a-29a (BLAG notice of appeal). The court of appeals has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1291. The appeals were docketed as Nos. 12-2335 and 12-2435 and remain pending before that court. The case is therefore in the court[] of appeals within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. 1254. See Eugene Gressman et al., Supreme Court Practice 2.4, at 83-84 (9th ed. 2007).

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6. Plaintiff filed a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment in this case on July 16, 2012 (No. 12 63), and the government and BLAG filed responses to that petition on August 31, 2012.
REASONS FOR GRANTING THE PETITION

The question of whether Section 3 of DOMA violates the Fifth Amendments guarantee of equal protection as applied to same-sex couples legally married under state law is presented in the governments petition for a writ of certiorari in United States Department of Health & Human Services v. Massachusetts, No. 12-15 (filed July 3, 2012), 5 and in the governments petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment in Office of Personnel Management v. Golinski, No. 12-16 (filed July 3, 2012). For the reasons explained in those pending petitions, that question warrants this Courts review now. The Court should hold this petition pending its con sideration and disposition of the petitions in Massachusetts and Golinski. Should the Court grant review in either of those cases, it need not grant review in this case. If the Court concludes that neither Massachusetts nor Golinski provides an appropriate vehicle for resolv ing the question presented, it should grant the govern ments petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment in Office of Personnel Management v. Pedersen (filed concurrently with this petition). If the Court also con cludes that Pedersen is not an appropriate vehicle, it should grant this petition to ensure a timely and defini tive ruling on Section 3s constitutionality.

Two other petitions for a writ of certiorari have been filed in the Massachusetts case, one by BLAG (No. 12-13) and a conditional crosspetition by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (No. 12-97).

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As noted above, the plaintiff in this case has also filed a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment on Section 3s constitutionality (No. 12-63, filed July 16, 2012), and the plaintiffs in Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management, No. 12-231 (filed Aug. 21, 2012), have done so as well. As explained in the governments re sponse to plaintiff s petition in this case (at 15-19), how ever, her petition raises two threshold questions poten tially posing obstacles to this Courts review: (1) whether plaintiff, who obtained a district court judg ment and decision entirely in her favor, has appellate standing to seek certiorari before judgment, and (2) whether New York law recognized her Canadian mar riage at the time of Thea Spyers death. As further ex plained in that response (at 19-20), the government, which plainly is a proper party to invoke this Courts jurisdiction to review the district courts judgment in this case, has filed this petition (as well as one in Pedersen) to obviate the Courts need to resolve the first issue if it is inclined to grant review in this case or in Pedersen.6
BLAG contends that plaintiff in this case potentially lacks appellate standing by referring to its argument that the government lacks standing to seek this Courts review of the First Circuits judgment in Massachusetts. See BLAG No. 12-63 Br. in Opp. 12 (What is more, as explained more fully in the Houses opposition in No. 12-15, it is not clear that [plaintiff Windsor], who prevailed in the district court, even has appellate standing to petition.). But one critical fact materially distinguishes the government from plaintiff in this case (and from the plaintiffs in the other DOMA cases): the district courts judgment was entered against the government, such that the government is not a prevailing party in the relevant sense. See Camreta v. Greene, 131 S. Ct. 2020, 2028-2029 (2011). As the Courts decision in INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919 (1983), makes clear, [w]hen an agency of the United States is a party to a case in which the Act of Congress it administers
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The second potential obstacle in this case is not pres ent in Massachusetts, Golinski, or Pedersen. As the government noted in its response to plaintiff s petition (at 16), BLAG has identified no reason to believe that the States highest court would reach a conclusion differ ent from the uniform decisions of its intermediate appel late courts recognizing foreign same-sex marriages. And as the government further noted (ibid.), the Court may conclude that the issue in fact goes to the merits of plaintiff s tax-refund claim rather than to her standing. BLAG itself appears to acknowledge that possibility. See BLAG No. 12-63 Br. in Opp. 19 n.9 (suggesting that validity of plaintiff s foreign marriage is a vehicle prob lem whether or not it is critical to [her] standing). But the Court would at least have to address whether the foreign-marriage issue implicates plaintiff s standing before reaching the merits of Section 3s constitutional ity. For that reason, and because the district court in Pedersen (unlike the district court in this case) exam ined the applicability of heightened scrutiny (see Pedersen Pet. App. 27a-75a), Pedersen would be prefer able to this case as a vehicle for resolving the constitu tionality of Section 3 in the event the Court does not grant review in Massachusetts or Golinski.

is held unconstitutional, it may seek this Courts review of that decision, even though the Executive may agree with the holding that the statute in question is unconstitutional. Id. at 930-931. Although BLAG points out in its response to the governments petition in Massachusetts that Section 3 (unlike the statute at issue in Chadha) is not administered by a single agency, that is a distinction without a difference. Indeed, BLAG makes no effort to explain why that distinction could matter. See BLAG No. 12-15 Br. in Opp. 18-19.

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CONCLUSION

This petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment should be held pending the Courts consideration and disposition of the petitions in United States Department of Health and Human Services v. Massachusetts, Nos. 12-13 (filed June 29, 2012), 12-15 (filed July 3, 2012), and 12-97 (filed July 20, 2012), and Office of Personnel Management v. Golinski, No. 12-16 (filed July 3, 2012). If the Court determines that neither Massachusetts nor Golinski provides an appropriate opportunity to decide the question presented, the Court should grant the gov ernments petition for a writ of certiorari before judg ment in Office of Personnel Management v. Pedersen (filed concurrently with this petition). If the Court de termines that Pedersen is not an appropriate vehicle, the Court should grant this petition. Respectfully submitted.
DONALD B. VERRILLI, JR. Solicitor General STUART F. DELERY Acting Assistant Attorney General SRI SRINIVASAN Deputy Solicitor General PRATIK A. SHAH Assistant to the Solicitor General MICHAEL JAY SINGER AUGUST E. FLENTJE HELEN L. GILBERT Attorneys

SEPTEMBER 2012

APPENDIX A
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

10 Civ. 8435 (BSJ)


EDITH SCHLAIN WINDSOR, PLAINTIFF
v.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, DEFENDANT
[Filed: June 6, 2012]
ORDER

BARBARA S. JONES, United States District Judge This case arises from Plaintiff s constitutional challenge to section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the operation of which required Plaintiff to pay federal estate tax on her same-sex spouses estate, a tax from which similarly situated heterosexual couples are exempt. Plaintiff claims that section 3 deprives her of the equal protection of the laws, as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. For the following reasons, Defendant-Intervenors motion to dismiss is DENIED and Plaintiff s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.

(1a)

2a
I. BACKGROUND A. DOMA

DOMA was enacted and signed into law in 1996. The challenged provision, section 3, defines the terms marriage and spouse under federal law. It provides: In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word marriage means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, the word spouse refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. 1 U.S.C. 7. In large part, DOMA was a reaction to the possibility that states would begin to recognize legally same-sex marriages. Specifically, Congress was spurred to action by a 1993 decision by the Hawaii Supreme Court, which suggested that same-sex couples might be entitled to marry. Baehr v. Lewin, 852 P 2d 44 (Haw. 1993). The . House Judiciary Committees Report on DOMA (House Report) discussed Baehr at length, describing it as a legal assault . . . against traditional heterosexual marriage. H.R. Rep. No. 104-664, at 3 (1996). The Report noted that, if homosexuals were permitted to marry, that development could have profound practical implications for federal law, including making homosexual couples eligible for a whole range of federal rights and benefits. Id. at 10. A federal definition of marriage was seen as necessary because, the Committee reasoned, never before had the words marriage (which, at the time, appeared in 800 sections of federal statutes and regulations) or spouse (appearing more than 3,100

3a times) meant anything other than a union between a man and a womanan implicit assumption upon which Congress had relied in enacting these statutes and regulations. Id. at 10. In addition to this notion of mak[ing] explicit what has always been implicit, id. at 10, the House Report justified DOMA as advancing government interests in: (1) defending and nurturing the institution of traditional, heterosexual marriage; (2) defending traditional notions of morality; (3) protecting state sovereignty and democratic self-governance;1 and (4) preserving scarce government resources. Id. at 12.
B. The Parties

In 1963, Plaintiff in this action, Edie Windsor, met her late-spouse, Thea Spyer, in New York City. Shortly thereafter, Windsor and Spyer entered into a committed relationship and lived together in New York. In 1993, Windsor and Spyer registered as domestic partners in New York City, as soon as that option became available. In 2007, as Spyers health began to deteriorate due to her multiple sclerosis and heart condition, Windsor and Speyer decided to get married in another jurisdiction that permitted gays and lesbians to marry. They were married in Canada that year. Spyer died in February 2009. According to her last will and testament, Spyers estate passed for Windsors benefit. Because of the operation of DOMA, Windsor did not qualify for the unlimited marital deduction, 26
This interest was not addressed to section 3, therefore the Court does not consider it. See Massachusetts v. U.S. Dept of Health & Human Servs., et al., Nos. 10-2207 & 10-2214, slip op. at 25 (1st Cir. May 31, 2012).
1

4a U.S.C. 2056(a), and was required to pay $363,053 in federal estate tax on Spyers estate, which Windsor paid in her capacity as executor of the estate. On November 9, 2010, Windsor commenced this suit, seeking a refund of the federal estate tax levied on Spyers estate and a declaration that section 3 of DOMA violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth Amendment. In February 2011, Attorney General Holder announced that the Department of Justice would no longer defend DOMAs constitutionality because the Attorney General and the President believed that a heightened standard of scrutiny should apply to classifications based on sexual orientation, and that section 3 is unconstitutional under that standard. Letter from Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney Gen., to John A. Boehner, Speaker, U.S. House of Rep., at 5 (Feb. 23, 2011). Given the Executive Branchs decision not to enforce DOMA, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the U.S. House of Representatives (BLAG) moved to intervene to defend the constitutionality of the statute. BLAGs motion was granted on June 2, 2011. On June 24, 2011, Windsor moved for summary judgment, arguing that DOMA is subject to strict constitutional scrutiny because homosexuals are a suspect class. She contends that DOMA fails under that standard of constitutional review because the government cannot establish that DOMA is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling or legitimate government interest. In the alternative, she argues that DOMA has no rational basis. On August 1, 2011, BLAG moved to dismiss Plaintiff s complaint. It argues that the weight of the prece-

5a dent compels the Court to review DOMA only for a rational basis and, under that standard, there are ample reasons that justify the legislation. Because the motion to dismiss turns on the same legal question as the motion for summary judgment, the Court will address the two motions simultaneously.
II. DISCUSSION

A. Legal Standard Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a court shall grant a motion for summary judgment if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Bessemer Trust Co., N.A. v. Branin, 618 F.3d 76, 86 (2d Cir. 2010) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P 56 (c)). The party seek. ing summary judgment bears the burden of establishing that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the undisputed facts establish her right to judgment as a matter of law. Rodriguez v. City of New York, 72 F.3d 1051, 1060-61 (2d Cir. 1995). To survive a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the operative standard requires the plaintiff [to] provide the grounds upon which [her] claim rests through factual allegations sufficient to raise a right to relief above the speculative level. Goldstein v. Pataki, 516 F.3d 50, 56 (2d Cir. 2008) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). That is, a plaintiff must assert enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007); see Ashcroft v. Igbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009).

6a
B. Windsors Standing to Pursue this Suit

As a threshold matter, the Court addresses whether Windsor has standing to pursue this action. [T]he irreducible constitutional minimum of standing contains three elements. First, the plaintiff must have suffered an injury in factan invasion of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized, and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 (1992) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). Second, the plaintiff must present a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained ofthe injury has to be fairly . . . traceable to the challenged action of the defendant, and not . . . the result of the independent action of some third party not before the court. Id. (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted). Finally, it must be likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision. Id. at 561. There is no question that Windsor meets the first and third requirements. BLAG seeks to undermine the second factor by arguing that Windsor has not proved that her marriage was recognized under New York law in 2009, the relevant tax year. In support of this argument, it points to a 2006 case where the New York Court of Appeals held that the New York Constitution does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex. Hernandez v. Robles, 855 N.E.2d 1, 5 (N.Y. 2006). While the Court acknowledges the Court of Appeals decision in Hernandez, in light of subsequent state executive action and case law, the Court ultimately finds BLAGs argument unpersuasive. In 2009, all three

7a statewide elected executive officialsthe Governor, the Attorney General, and the Comptrollerhad endorsed the recognition of Windsors marriage. See Godfrey v. Spano, 13 N.Y.3d 358, 368 n.3 (N.Y. 2009) (describing 2004 informal opinion letters of the Attorney General and the State Comptroller which respectively concluded that New York law presumptively requires that parties to such [same sex] unions must be treated as spouses for purposes of New York law and [t]he Retirement System will recognize a same-sex Canadian marriage in the same manner as an opposite-sex New York marriage, under the principle of comity); Dickerson v. Thompson, 73 A.D.3d 52, 54-55 (N.Y. App. Div. 2010) (citing a 2008 directive by the Governor to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions). In addition, every New York State appellate court to have addressed the issue in the years following Hernandez has upheld the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. See In re Estate of Ranftle, 917 N.Y.S.2d 195 (N.Y. App. Div. 2011) (holding that a Canadian same-sex marriage is valid in New York); Lewis v. N.Y. State Dept of Civil Serv., 60 A.D.3d 216 (N.Y. App. Div. 2009), aff d on other grounds sub nom. Godfrey, 13 N.Y.3d 358 (affirming the lower courts holding that New Yorks marriage recognition rule requires the recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages); Martinez v. Cnty. of Monroe, 850 N.Y.S.2d 740 (N.Y. App. Div. 2008) (holding that plaintiff s same-sex Canadian marriage is entitled to recognition in New York). Finally, although the Court of Appeals has yet to readdress the question of same-sex marriage recognition directly, its 2009 opinion in Godfrey v. Spano said nothing to cast doubt on the uniform lower-court authority

8a recognizing the validity of same-sex marriages. N.Y.3d at 377. 13

For all of these reasons, since the State, through its executive agencies and appellate courts, uniformly recognized Windsors same sex marriage in the year that she paid the federal estate taxes, the Court finds that she has standing.
C. The Effect of Baker v. Nelson

The Court next considers BLAGs argument that the Supreme Courts holding in Baker v. Nelson, 409 U.S. 810 (1972), requires it to dismiss Windsors case. There, the Supreme Court summarily affirmed a challenge to a Minnesota state law that denied a marriage license to a same-sex couple. The plaintiffs challenged the law in state court on equal protection grounds, arguing that the right to marry without regard to the sex of the parties is a fundamental right, and that restricting marriage to only couples of the opposite sex is irrational and invidiously discriminatory. Baker v. Nelson, 191 N.W.2d 185, 186 (Minn. 1971). The Supreme Court dismissed the challenge for want of a substantial federal question. Baker, 409 U.S. 810. BLAG now argues that Baker is dispositive of the issue before this Court and, as binding precedent, compels the Court to find that defining marriage as between one man and one woman comports with equal protection. (BLAG Mot. to Dismiss at 12.) Summary judgments from the Supreme Court are binding on the lower courts only with regard to the precise legal questions and facts presented in the jurisdictional statement. Ill. State Bd. of Elections v. Socialist Workers Party, 440 U.S. 173, 182 (1979). The case be-

9a fore the Court does not present the same issue as that presented in Baker. DOMA defines marriage for federal purposes, with the effect of allocating federal rights and benefits. It does not preclude or otherwise inhibit a state from authorizing same-sex marriage (or issuing marriage licenses), as did the Minnesota statute in Baker. Indeed, BLAG agrees that DOMA does not preclude or inhibit same sex-marriage and Windsor does not argue that DOMA affects the fundamental right to marry. Accordingly, after comparing the issues in Baker and those in the instant case, the Court does not believe that Baker necessarily decided the question of whether DOMA violates the Fifth Amendments Equal Protection Clause. Accord, e.g., Smelt v. Cnty. of Orange, 374 F. Supp. 2d 861, 872-73 (C.D. Cal. 2005), aff d in part, revd in part on other grounds, 447 F. 3d 673 (2006) (declining to find that Baker controlled in an equal protection challenge to DOMA), see also In re Kandu, 315 B.R. 123, 137 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. 2004) (same). The Court will not rest its decision on such a slender reed of support. Morse v. Republican Party of Va., 517 U.S. 186, 203 n.21 (1996). Having decided that Baker does not require a decision in BLAGs favor as a matter of law, the Court turns to the parties equal protection arguments.
D. Equal Protection

Equal protection requires the government to treat all similarly situated persons alike. City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Ctr., 476 U.S. 432, 439 (1985). It prohibits the government from drawing distinctions between individuals based solely on differences that are

10a irrelevant to a legitimate governmental objective. Lehr v. Robertson, 463 U.S. 248, 265 (1983). Of course, not all legislative classifications violate equal protection. See Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1, 10 (1992). The promise [of] equal protection of the laws must coexist with the practical necessity that most legislation classifies for one purpose or another, with resulting disadvantage to various groups or persons. Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620, 631 (1996). With that reality in view, [t]he general rule is that legislation is presumed to be valid and will be sustained if the classification drawn by the statute is rationally related to a legitimate state interest. City of Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 440. That general rule, embodied in the rational basis test, applies in the mine-run of cases involving commercial, tax and like regulation. Massachusetts v. U.S. Dept of Health & Human Servs., et al., Nos. 10-2207 & 10-2214, slip op. at 13 (1st Cir. May 31, 2012). Rational basis review is the paradigm of judicial restraint. FCC v. Beach Commcns, Inc., 508 U.S. 307, 314 (1993). The burden of proving a statute unconstitutional falls on the party attacking the legislation. Heller v. Doe, 509 U.S. 312, 321 (1993); Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 266 (1962) (Stewart, J., concurring). A statutory discrimination will not be set aside if any state of facts reasonably may be conceived to justify it. McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420, 426 (1961). Accordingly, courts must accept as constitutional those legislative classifications that bear a rational relationship to a legitimate government interest.

11a Courts review with greater scrutiny classifications that disadvantage a suspect class or impinge upon the exercise of a fundamental right. Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, 216-17 (1982). Pursuant to a courts strict scrutiny, a classification violates equal protection unless it is precisely tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest. Id. at 217; see Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200, 227 (1995). Classifications that disadvantage a quasi-suspect class are also subject to a heightened standard of constitutional review. Courts review those classifications with an intermediate level of scrutiny. Under heightened or intermediate scrutiny, the classification must be substantially related to a legitimate state interest to survive constitutional attack. Mills v. Habluetzel, 456 U.S. 91, 99 (1982). There are few classifications that trigger strict or heightened scrutiny. See, e.g., Clark v. Jeter, 486 U.S. 456, 461 (1988) (illegitimacy subject to intermediate scrutiny); Miss. Univ. for Women v. Hogan, 458 U.S. 718, 723-24 (1982) (gender subject to intermediate scrutiny); Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, 11 (1967 (race subject to strict scrutiny); Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214, 216 (1944) (national ancestry and ethnic origin subject to strict scrutiny). And because heightened scrutiny requires an exacting investigation of legislative choices, the Supreme Court has made clear that respect for the separation of powers should make courts reluctant to establish new suspect classes. Thomasson v. Perry, 80 F.3d 915, 928 (1996) (quoting City of Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 441); see also Lyng v. Castillo, 477 U.S. 635, 638 (1986) (declining to extend strict scrutiny to [c]lose relatives); Mass. Bd. of Retirement v. Murgia, 427 U.S. 307, 313 (1976) (per curiam) (declining to extend strict scrutiny to the elderly).

12a Windsor now argues that DOMA should be subject to strict (or at least intermediate) scrutiny because homosexuals as a class present the traditional indicia that characterize a suspect class: a history of discrimination, an immutable characteristic upon which the classification is drawn, political powerlessness, and a lack of any relationship between the characteristic in question and the classs ability to perform in or contribute to society. In making this claim, Windsor asks the Court to distinguish the precedent in eleven Courts of Appeals that have applied the rational basis test to legislation that classifies on the basis of sexual orientation. See Massachusetts v. HHS, Nos. 10-2207 & 10-2214; Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning, 455 F.3d 859 (8th Cir. 2006); Lofton v. Secy of Dept of Children & Family Servs., 358 F. 3d 804 (11th Cir. 2004); Johnson v. Johnson, 385 F.3d 503 (5th Cir. 2004); Equality Found. v. City of Cincinnati, 128 F.3d 289 (6th Cir. 1997); Thomasson, 80 F.3d 915; Steffan v. Perry, 41 F.3d 677 (D.C. Cir. 1994); High Tech Gays v. Def. Indus. Sec. Clearance Office, 895 F.2d 563 (9th Cir. 1990); Ben-Shalom v. Marsh, 881 F.2d 454 (7th Cir. 1989); Woodard v. United States, 871 F.2d 1068 (Fed. Cir. 1989); Natl Gay Task Force v. Bd. of Educ., 729 F.2d 1270 (10th Cir. 1984). She invites this Court to decide, as a matter of first impression in the Second Circuit, whether homosexuals are a suspect class. Though there is no case law in the Second Circuit binding the Court to the rational basis standard in this context, the Court is not without guidance on the matter. For one, as the Supreme Court has observed, courts have been very reluctant, as they should be in our federal system, to create new suspect classes. City of

13a Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 442. Moreover, the Supreme Court conspicuously has not designated homosexuals as a suspect class, even though it has had the opportunity to do so. See Massachusetts v. HHS, Nos. 10-2207 & 10-2214, slip op. at 15 (noting that [n]othing indicates that the Supreme Court is about to adopt this new suspect classification when it conspicuously failed to do so in Romer). Against this backdrop, this district court is not inclined to do so now. In any event, because the Court believes that the constitutional question presented here may be disposed of under a rational basis review, it need not decide today whether homosexuals are a suspect class. The Court will, however, elaborate on an aspect of the equal protection case law that it believes affects the nature of the rational basis analysis required here. The Supreme Courts equal protection decisions have increasingly distinguished between [l]aws such as economic or tax legislation that are scrutinized under rational basis review[, which] normally pass constitutional muster, and law[s that] exhibit[] . . . a desire to harm a politically unpopular group, which receive a more searching form of rational basis review . . . under the Equal Protection Clause . . . . Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 579-80 (2003) (OConnor, J., concurring); see Romer, 517 U.S. 620; City of Cleburne, 473 U.S. 432; U.S. Dept of Agric. v. Moreno, 413 U.S. 528 (1973). It is difficult to ignore this pattern, which suggests that the rational basis analysis can vary by context. At least one Court of Appeals has considered this pattern as well. As the First Circuit explains, Without relying on suspect classifications, Supreme Court equal

14a protection decisions have both intensified scrutiny of purported justifications where minorities are subject to discrepant treatment and have limited the permissible justifications. See Massachusetts v. HHS, Nos. 10-2207 & 10-2214, slip op. at 15. And, in areas where state regulation has traditionally governed, the Court may require that the federal government interest in intervention be shown with special clarity. Id. Regardless whether a more searching form of rational basis scrutiny is required where a classification burdens homosexuals as a class and the states prerogatives are concerned, at a minimum, this Court must insist on knowing the relation between the classification adopted and the object to be attained. Romer, 517 U.S. at 632. The search for the link between classification and objective gives substance to the [equal protection analysis]. Id. Additionally, as has always been required under the rational basis test, irrespective of the context, the Court must consider whether the governments asserted interests are legitimate. Pursuant to these established principles, and mindful of the Supreme Courts jurisprudential cues, the Court finds that DOMAs section 3 does not pass constitutional muster.2

Any additional discussion of heightened or intermediate scrutiny would be wholly superfluous to the decision and contrary to settled principles of constitutional avoidance. City of Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 456 (Marshall, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part); Spector Motor Serv., Inc. v. McLaughlin, 323 U.S. 101, 105 (1944); see also Miss. Univ. for Women, 458 U.S. at 724 n.9 (declining to address strict scrutiny when heightened scrutiny was sufficient to invalidate the challenged action); Hooper v. Bernalillo Cnty. Assessor, 472 U.S. 612, 618 (1985) (declining to reach heightened scrutiny in reviewing classifications that failed the rational basis test).

15a
E. Congresss Justifications

Contemporaneous with its enactment, Congress justified DOMA as: defending and nurturing the traditional institution of marriage; promoting heterosexuality; encouraging responsible procreation and childrearing; preserving scarce government resources; and defending traditional notions of morality. In its motion to dismiss and memorandum in opposition to summary judgment, BLAG advances some, but not all of these interests as rational bases for DOMA. It additionally asserts that Congress passed DOMA in the interests of caution, maintaining consistency in citizens eligibility for federal benefits, promoting a social understanding that marriage is related to childrearing, and providing children with two parents of the opposite sex. The Court considers all of these interests to determine whether Windsor has negative[d] every conceivable basis which might support [the statute]. Heller, 509 U.S. at 320-21 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
1. Caution and The Traditional Institution of Marriage

BLAG submits that caution was a rational basis for DOMA insofar as Congress wanted time to consider whether it should embrace (some of) the states novel redefinition of marriage. As BLAG describes it, caution justified DOMA because altering the social concept of marriage would undermine Congresss goal of nurturing the foundational institution of marriage. (BLAG Mot. to Dismiss at 2931.) By that account, Congresss putative interest in caution seems, in substance, no different than an interest in nurturing the traditional institution of marriage. See H.R. Rep. No. 104664, at

16a 12. The Court therefore considers both of these interests together. With respect to traditional marriage, BLAG argues that Congress believed DOMA would promote it by maintain[ing] the definition of marriage that was universally accepted in American law. (BLAG Mot. to Dismiss at 28). That interest may be legitimate.3 However, it is unclear how DOMA advances it. DOMA does not affect the state laws that govern marriage. (BLAG Mot. to Dismiss at 20 (noting that DOMA does not directly and substantially interfere with the ability of same-sex couples to marry).) Precisely because the decision of whether same-sex couples can marry is left to the states, DOMA does not, strictly speaking, preserve the institution of marriage as one between a man and a woman. The statute creates a federal definition of marriage. But that definition does not give content to the fundamental right to marryand it
While tradition as an end in itself may not be a legitimate state interest in this case, see Heller, 509 U.S. at 326 (noting that the [a]ncient lineage of a tradition does not necessarily make its preservation a legitimate government goal), the Court acknowledges that an interest in maintaining the traditional institution of marriage, when coupled with other legitimate interests, could be a sound reason for a legislative classification, see Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 585 (OConnor, J., concurring) (stating that preserving the traditional institution of marriage would be a legitimate state interest in an equal protection analysis). To the extent Congress had an interest in defending traditional notions of morality in furtherance of an interest in traditional marriage, H.R. Rep. No. 104664, at 16, the Court agrees that [p]reserving th[e] institution [of traditional marriage] is not the same as mere moral disapproval of an excluded group, and that is singularly so in this case given the range of bipartisan support for [DOMA]. Massachusetts v. HHS, Nos. 102207 & 102214, slip op. at 29, 30 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
3

17a is the substance of that right, not its facial definition, that actually shapes the institution of marriage. Cf. De Sylva v. Ballentine, 351 U.S. 570, 580 (1956) (noting that [t]he scope of a federal right is, of course, a federal question, but that does not mean that its content is not to be determined by state, rather than federal law, [which] is especially true where a statute deals with a familial relationship [because] there is no federal law of domestic relations). To the extent Congress had any other independent interest in approaching same-sex marriage with caution, for much the same reason, DOMA does not further it. A number of states now permit same-sex marriages. DOMA did not compel those states to wait[ ] for evidence spanning a longer term before engaging in . . . a major redefinition of a foundational social institution. (BLAG Mot. to Dismiss at 29.) Thus, whatever the social consequences of this legal development ultimately may be, DOMA has not, and cannot, forestall them.4
Congress also expressed a corresponding interest in promoting heterosexuality as closely related to the interest in protecting traditional marriage. H.R. Rep. No. 104664, at 15 n.53. BLAG does not contend that this is a rational basis for DOMAs classification; nonetheless, the Court briefly considers it, as a conceivable basis that might support it. Heller, 509 U.S. at 320. A permissible classification must at least find some footing in the realities of the subject addressed by the legislation. Id. at 321. Here, such footing is lacking. DOMA affects only those individuals who are already married. The Court finds it implausible that section 3 does anything to persuade those married persons (who are homosexuals) to abandon their current marriages in favor of heterosexual relationships. Thus, the stated goal of promoting heterosexuality is so attenuated from DOMAs classification that it render[s] the distinction arbitrary or irrational. City of Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 446.
4

18a
2. Childrearing and Procreation

Promoting the ideal family structure for raising children is another reason Congress might have enacted DOMA. Again, the Court does not disagree that promoting family values and responsible parenting are legitimate governmental goals. The Court cannot, however, discern a logical relationship between DOMA and those goals. BLAG argues that Congress enacted DOMA to avoid a social perception that marriage is not linked to childrearing. In furtherance of that interest, it argues, Congress might have passed DOMA to deter heterosexual couples from having children out of wedlock, or to incentivize couples who are pregnant to get married. (BLAG Mot. to Dismiss at 36.) BLAG also claims that Congress had an interest in promoting the optimal social (family) structure for raising childrenthat is, households with one mother and one father. (BLAG Mot. to Dismiss at 38.) These concerns appear related to Congresss contemporaneously stated interest in responsible procreation. H.R. Rep. No. 104664, at 1213. These are interests in the choices that heterosexual couples make: whether to get married, and whether and when to have children. Yet DOMA has no direct impact on heterosexual couples at all; therefore, its ability to deter those couples from having children outside of marriage, or to incentivize couples that are pregnant to get married, is remote, at best. It does not follow from the exclusion of one group from federal benefits (same-sex married persons) that another group of people (opposite-sex married couples) will be incentivized to take any action, whether that is marriage or procreation. See In re Levenson, 587 F.3d 925, 934 (9th Cir. 2009).

19a Conceivably, Congress could have been interested more generally in maintaining the societal perception that a primary purpose of marriage is procreation. However, even formulated as such, the Court cannot see a link between DOMA and childrearing. DOMA does not determine who may adopt and raise children. Nor could it, as these matters of family structure and relations belong[ ] to the laws of the States and not to the laws of the United States. Elk Grove Unified Sch. Dist. v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1, 12 (2004). At most, then, DOMA has an indirect effect on popular perceptions of what a family is and should be, and no effect at all on the types of family structures in which children in this country are raised. And so, although this Court must accept a legislatures generalizations even when there is an imperfect fit between means and ends, Heller, 509 U.S. at 320, here, Congresss goal is so far removed from the classification, it is impossible to credit its justification. Romer, 517 U.S. at 635; see Lewis v. Thompson, 252 F.3d 567, 584 n.27 (2d Cir. 2001) (noting that the justification for the law cannot rely on factual assumptions that are beyond the limits of rational speculation (quoting Heller, 509 U.S. at 320)).
3. Consistency and Uniformity of Federal Benefits

Additionally, BLAG explains that Congress was motivated to define marriage at the federal level to ensure that federal benefits are distributed consistently. In other words, Congress might have enacted DOMA to avoid a scenario in which people in different States . . . have different eligibility to receive Federal benefits, depending on the states marriage laws. (BLAG Mot. to Dismiss at 34 (quoting 142 Cong. Rec. S10121 (daily ed. Sept. 10, 1996) (statement of Sen. Ashcroft)).)

20a Here, the Court does discern a link between the means and the end. It is problematic, though, that the means used in this instance intrude upon the states business of regulating domestic relations. That incursion skirts important principles of federalism and therefore cannot be legitimate, in this Courts view. In the first instance, it bears mention that this notion of consistency, as BLAG presents it, is misleading. Historically the statesnot the federal government have defined marriage. Cf. United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 583 (1995) (Kennedy, J., concurring) (noting that the states have enjoyed the latitude to experiment[ ] and exercis[e] their own judgment in an area to which [they] lay claim by right of history and expertise). For that reason, before DOMA, any uniformity at the federal level with respect to citizens eligibility for marital benefits was merely a byproduct of the states shared definition of marriage. The federal government neither sponsored nor promoted that uniformity. See In re Levenson, 587 F.3d at 933 (noting that the relevant status quo prior to DOMA was the federal governments recognition of any marriage declared valid according to state law); Gill v. Office of Pers. Mgmt., 699 F. Supp. 2d 374, 393 (D. Mass. 2010) (same). Yet even if Congress had developed a newfound interest in promoting or maintaining consistency in the marital benefits that the federal government provides, DOMA is not a legitimate method for doing so. To accomplish that consistency, DOMA operates to reexamine the states decisions concerning same-sex marriage. It sanctions some of those decisions and rejects others. But such a sweeping federal review in this arena does not square with our federalist system of government,

21a which places matters at the core of the domestic relations law exclusively within the province of the states. See Ankenbrandt v. Richards, 504 U.S. 689, 716 (1992) (Blackmun, J., concurring); Sosna v. Iowa, 419 U.S. 393, 404 (1975); see also Massachusetts v. U.S. Dept of Health & Human Servs., 698 F. Supp. 2d 234, 249-50 (D. Mass. 2010) (discussing the history of marital status determinations as an attribute of state sovereignty). The states may choose, through their legislative or constitutional processes, to preserve traditional marriage or to redefine it. See Golinski v. Office of Pers. Mgmt., 824 F. Supp. 2d 968, 988 (N.D. Cal. 2012) (noting that thirty states have passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage). But generally speaking, barring a states inability to assume its role in regulating domestic relations, the federal government has not attempted to manage those processes and affairs. See id. at 1000 n.10 (observing that, historically, the federal government has only legislated in this area where there has been a failure or absence of state government). BLAG has conceded this historical fact. See Transcript of Oral Argument at 10:1520, 18:2-5, Golinski, 824 F. Supp. 2d 968 (No. 10257) (conceding that BLAGs research hasnt shown that there are historical examples which [sic] Congress has legislated on behalf of the federal government in the area of domestic relations). This is the virtue of federalism. Massachusetts v. HHS, Nos. 102207 & 102214, slip op. at 30.
4. Conserving the Public Fisc

Lastly, Congress also justified DOMA as a means of conserving government resources. (BLAG Mot. to Dismiss at 32.) An interest in conserving the public fisc alone, however, can hardly justify the classification

22a used in allocating those resources. Plyler, 457 U.S. at 227. After all, excluding any arbitrarily chosen group of individuals from a government program conserves government resources. Dragovich v. U.S. Dept of the Treasury, 764 F. Supp. 2d 1178, 1190 (N.D. Cal. 2011). With no other rational basis to support it, Congresss interest in economy does not suffice. Accord, e.g., Dragovich v. U.S. Dept of the Treasury, No. C 10-01564, slip op. at 26 (N.D. Cal. May 24, 2012); Golinski, 824 F. Supp. 2d at 99495.
CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED and Defendant Intervenors motion to dismiss is DENIED. The Court declares that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, 1 U.S.C. 7, is unconstitutional as applied to Plaintiff. Plaintiff is awarded judgment in the amount of $353,053.00, plus interest and costs allowed by law. Each party shall bear their own costs and fees. This case is CLOSED. The clerk of the court is directed to terminate the motions at docket numbers 28, 49, and 52. SO ORDERED: /s/ BARBARA S. JONES BARBARA S. JONES United States District Judge Dated: New York, New York June 6, 2012

23a
APPENDIX B UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

10 CIVIL 8435 (BSJ)


EDITH SCHLAIN WINDSOR, PLAINTIFF
v.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, DEFENDANT
[Filed: June 7, 2012]
JUDGMENT

Plaintiff having moved for summary judgment; Defendant-Intervenor having moved to dismiss, and the matter having come before the Honorable Barbara S. Jones, United States District Judge, and the Court, on June 6, 2012, having rendered its Order granting Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment, denying DefendantIntervenors motion to dismiss, declaring that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, 1 U.S.C. 7, is unconstitutional as applied to Plaintiff, awarding Plaintiff judgment in the amount of $363,053.00, plus interest and costs allowed by law with each party to bear their own costs and fees, it is, the reasons stated in the Court's Order dated June 6, 2012, Plaintiff s motion for summary judgment is grantORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED: That for

24a ed and Defendant-Intervenors motion to dismiss is denied; the Court declares that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, 1 U.S.C. 7, is unconstitutional as applied to Plaintiff; Plaintiff is awarded judgment in the amount of $363,053.00, plus interest and costs allowed by law; each party shall bear their own costs and fees; accordingly, the case is closed. Dated: New York, New York June 7, 2012 RUBY J. KRAJICK Clerk of Court BY: /s/ ILLEGIBLE Deputy Clerk

25a
APPENDIX C UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

Civil Action No. 10-CV-8435 (BSJ)(JCF)


ECF CASE
EDITH SCHLAIN WINDSOR, ET AL., PLAINTIFF
v.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, DEFENDANT
Filed: June 14, 2012
NOTICE OF APPEAL

TO THE CLERK OF THIS COURT AND ALL PARTIES OF RECORD: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Defendant the United States of America hereby appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from the Judgment dated June 7, 2012 [ECF No. 94] and the underlying Order dated June 6, 2012 [ECF No. 93] Dated this 14th day of June, 2012.

26a Dated: June 14, 2012 Respectfully Submitted, STUART F. DELERY Acting Assistant Attorney General ARTHUR R. GOLDBERG Assistant Branch Director /s/ JEAN LIN JEAN LIN (NY Bar No. 4074530) Senior Trial Counsel United States Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 20 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20530

27a
APPENDIX D

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK No. 10-CV-8435 (BSJ)(JCF) EDITH SCHLAIN WINDSOR, IN HER CAPACITY AS
EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF THEA CLARA SPYER,
PLAINTIFF
v. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, DEFENDANT Filed: June 8, 2012
NOTICE OF APPEAL OF INTERVENORDEFENDANT THE BIPARTISAN LEGAL
ADVISORY GROUP OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES

Intervenor-Defendant the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the U.S. House of Representatives (House) hereby appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit the District Courts Order (June 6, 2012) (ECF No. 93), and Judgment (June 7, 2012) (ECF No. 94), both insofar as they grant plaintiff s [ . . . ] Motion for Summary Judgment (June 24, 2011) (ECF No. 28) and deny the [House]s Motion to Dismiss (Aug. 1, 2011) (ECF No. 52). Copies of the Order and Judgment are attached as Exhibits A and B, respectively.

28a The statutory basis for this appeal is 28 U.S.C. 1291. The House is exempt from the filing fee requirement for this appeal. See 28 U.S.C. 1913; Judicial Conference of the United States, Court of Appeals Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, available at http://www.uscourts.gov/FormsAndFees/Fees/CourtOf AppealsMiscellaneousFeeSchedule.aspx. Respectfully submitted, /s/ PAUL D. CLEMENT PAUL D. CLEMENT15 H. Christopher Bartolomucci Conor B. Dugan Nicholas J. Nelson BANCROFT PLLC 1919 M Street, N.W., Suite 470 Washington, D.C. 20036 Telephone: (202) 234-0090 Facsimile: (202) 234-2806 Counsel for Intervenor-Defendant the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the U.S. House of Representatives26

Kerry W. Kircher, as the ECF filer of this document, attests that concurrence in the filing of the document has been obtained from signatory Paul D. Clement. 2 The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, which speaks for the House in litigation matters, is currently comprised of the Honorable John A. Boehner, Speaker of the House, the Honorable Eric Cantor, Majority Leader, the Honorable Kevin McCarthy, Majority Whip, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader, and the Honorable Steny H. Hoyer, Democratic Whip. The Democratic Leader and

29a OF COUNSEL: Kerry W. Kircher, General Counsel William Pittard, Deputy General Counsel Christine Davenport, Senior Assistant Counsel Todd B. Tatelman, Assistant Counsel Mary Beth Walker, Assistant Counsel OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 219 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Telephone: (202) 225-9700 Facsimile: (202) 226-1360 June 8, 2012

Democratic Whip decline to support the filing of this Notice of Appeal.

30a
APPENDIX E

1. U.S. Const. Amend. V provides, in pertinent part: No person shall * * * be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law * * * . 2. 1 U.S.C. 7 provides:
Definition of marriage and spouse

In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word marriage means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word spouse refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.

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