Courts & Law

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

A ruling by a federal court judge in California last week has convinced the U.S. Department of Justice to no longer enforce the sections of U.S. Code Title 38 that prohibit same-sex couples from receiving veterans benefits. DOJ Won’t Enforce Law Banning Same-Sex Couples From Receiving Veterans Benefits:

The Department of Justice announced Wednesday
that it would no longer enforce the sections of U.S. Code Title 38 that
prohibit same-sex couples from receiving veterans benefits. The law
exists separately from the Defense of Marriage Act and was thus
continuing to block veterans from accessing benefits for their partners,
although a federal court overturned the law last week.

In a letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and first obtained by the Washington Blade,
Attorney General Eric Holder explained that even though “Decisions by
the Executive not to enforce federal laws are appropriately rare,” the
DOMA ruling and subsequent decision last week provide ample
justification for no longer enforcing this restriction. This is
especially true, he pointed out, since the House Republicans are no
longer defending Title 38 through the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group
(BLAG):

In light of these developments, continued enforcement of
the Title 38 provisions pending further judicial review is unwarranted.
The decision of the Supreme Court in Windsor reinforces the
Executive’s conclusion that the Title 38 provisions are
unconstitutional, and another Article III court now has so determined.
Moreover, as I explained in my earlier letter, one of the primary
interests underlying the earlier decision to continue enforcement of the
Title 38 provisions was to allow representatives of Congress to present
a defense of those provisions to the judicial branch. BLAG’s decision
to withdraw from the Title 38 litigation in light of Windsor,
and therefore to cease its defense of the provisions at issue, means
that continued enforcement would no longer serve that interest. In
the meantime, continued enforcement would likely have a tangible
adverse effect on the families of veterans and, in some circumstances,
active-duty service members and reservists, with respect to survival,
health care, home loan, and other benefits.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in June, ending the federal government's ability to discriminate against legally married same-sex marriage partners from states that recognize same-sex marriage, the Obama administration has had the agencies of the federal government conducting a review to amend rules and regulations to comply with the law.

Yesterday, the IRS and Medicare announced a policy which uses the “place of celebration” rule, rather than the place of residence of legally married same-sex marriage partners. This policy change will have a profound effect on undermining Section 2 of DOMA (states do not have to recognize the status of legally married same-sex marriage partners from states that recognize same-sex marriage — in violation of the Full Faith and Credit Clause, Article IV, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution), because so many states use the federal adjusted gross income from Form 1040 as the basis for factoring state income taxes. The IRS and Medicare will now recognize same-sex marriages. All of them.:

According to a big new announcement
from the IRS and the Treasury Department, if you’re a legally married
gay couple, the federal government will recognize your marriage — even
if you live in a state where your marriage isn’t legal.

The statement, released by the Treasury Department Thursday, says that department and the IRS will use a “place of celebration” rule in recognizing same-sex unions (recognition that was illegal before the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act last month). That means that the U.S. government recognizes a marriage if the union was legally recognized in the place where it occurred, where it was celebrated. That’s true even if the married couple then lives in a state where gay marriage is illegal.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Something remarkable is happening in New Mexico over the past week. After a state court judge ruled last week that the state's constitution prohibits discrimination against same-sex couples, several counties in New Mexico have begun issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. N.M.
judge orders county to issue same-sex marriage licenses:

An Albuquerque judge on Monday ordered the clerk of New Mexico’s most
populous county to join two other counties in the state in issuing
marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples.

State District Judge Alan Malott ruled that New Mexico’s
constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation.

The Bernalillo County clerk’s office in Albuquerque plans to start
issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Laura
Schauer Ives, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of New
Mexico, called it a “monumental ruling” and said the group didn’t expect
such a broad decision by the judge.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It's a start. GOP’s Sensenbrenner vows to repair Voting Rights Act:

Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner is a longtime advocate of the Voting Rights Act. As chair of the House Judiciary Committee when the law was reviewed in 2006,
the Wisconsin legislator oversaw extensive deliberations which
ultimately affirmed the VRA’s continuing necessity–and resulted in a
25-year reauthorization.

So when the Supreme Court effectively gutted
the VRA in June by voiding the requirement for certain states to get federal “preclearance” before changing their voting laws, Sensenbrenner was displeased.

“Voter discrimination still exists,” he wrote in a June op-ed for USA Today, “and our progress toward equality should not be mistaken for a victory.”

* * *

“The first thing we have to do is take the monkey wrench that the court
threw in it, out of the Voting Rights Act, and then use that monkey
wrench to be able to fix it so that it is alive, well, constitutional
and impervious to another challenge that will be filed by the usual
suspects,” Sensenbrenner said Monday at an RNC event held to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington.

Video below the fold.