''M.T. v J.T.'', 140 N.J. 77, 355 A.2d 204, 205 (NJ Super. Ct. 1976), is a 1976
New Jersey Superior Court case which affirmed the validity of a marriage between a post-operative
trans woman to a cissexual man, and in particular recognized the plaintiff changed legal sex, from male to female, when she phenotypic sex through
surgery
Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
. This case is believed to be the first to address the right of transsexual people to marry.
In 1972, M.T. filed the lawsuit claiming
spousal support after her husband of two years, J.T., abandoned her and ceased providing financial support.
A three-judge panel of the
Superior Court's Appellate Division affirmed the holding of the lower court that M.T. was legally female for the purposes of New Jersey law at the time of the marriage, and therefore the marriage was valid, and that M.T. was entitled to support.
This opinion based its reasoning in part on the fact that M.T. had undergone
sexual reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
.
The court considered, but rejected, the arguments of the earlier English case ''
Corbett v Corbett
''Corbett v Corbett (otherwise Ashley)'' is a 1970 family law divorce case heard between November and December 1969 by the High Court of England and Wales in which Arthur Corbett sought annulment of his marriage to April Ashley. Corbett (the h ...
,'' which had ruled that English marriage laws follow birth sex.
See also
*
Void marriage
References
External links
Court Decision
{{LGBT culture in New Jersey
1976 in LGBT history
1976 in New Jersey
1976 in United States case law
LGBT history in New Jersey
New Jersey state case law
United States same-sex marriage case law
Transgender marriage
United States transgender rights case law