Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management
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''Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management'' is a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the
Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...
, Section 3, which defined the federal definition of marriage to be a union of a man and a woman, entirely excluding legally married same-sex couples. The District Court that originally heard the case ruled Section 3 unconstitutional. On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional, and denied appeal of ''Pedersen'' the next day.


Legal Proceedings

Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is a non-profit legal rights organization in the United States. The organization works to end discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression. The organization ...
(GLAD) filed the case in U.S. District Court on behalf of six same-sex couples and one widower in Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire, making the same arguments it made in ''
Gill v. Office of Personnel Management ''Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management'', 682 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2012) is a United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision that affirmed the judgment of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts in a lawsuit challe ...
'': that section 3 of the
Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...
should be found unconstitutional based on the Fifth Amendment,
equal protection The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...
, and the federal government's historically consistent deference to state definitions of
marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
. It prevents the federal government from recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples who are legally married in their own states or other jurisdictions and restricts the federal government from granting such couples benefits it provides to different-sex married couples. On February 23, 2011, Attorney General
Eric Holder Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African Amer ...
released a memo regarding two lawsuits challenging DOMA section 3, ''Pedersen v. OPM'' and '' Windsor v. United States'' stating, "After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases." However, the administration also announced it intended to continue enforcing the law until its repeal by Congress or until ruled unconstitutional in court. On April 18, 2011, leaders of the House of Representatives announced they had chosen former
United States Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...
Paul Clement Paul Drew Clement (born June 24, 1966) is an American lawyer who served as U.S. Solicitor General from 2004 to 2008 and is known for his advocacy before the U.S. Supreme Court. He established his own law firm, Clement & Murphy, in 2022 after le ...
to defend the case on behalf of the
Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) has been a standing body of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993 that directs the activities of the . BLAG can direct the General Counsel to participate in litigation or file an ''amicus curiae'' ...
(BLAG). On July 15, the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment. On June 20, 2012, BLAG asked that the case be put on hold pending Supreme Court action on the First Circuit decision in ''
Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and Human Services ''Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and Human Services'' 682 F.3d 1 is a United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision that affirmed the judgment of the District Court for the District of Massachus ...
'' and ''
Gill v. Office of Personnel Management ''Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management'', 682 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2012) is a United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision that affirmed the judgment of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts in a lawsuit challe ...
'', which BLAG was appealing. The Court denied the request on July 4, 2012. On July 31, Judge Vanessa L. Bryant found for the plaintiffs. She wrote, " ving considered the purported rational bases proffered by both BLAG and Congress and concluded that such objectives bear no rational relationship to section 3 of DOMA as a legislative scheme, the Court finds that no conceivable rational basis exists for the provision."


Appeals

The DOJ appealed the decision to the
Second Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...
on August 17, 2012, and Pedersen filed a petition for
certiorari before judgment A petition for certiorari before judgment, in the Supreme Court of the United States, is a petition for a writ of certiorari in which the Supreme Court is asked to immediately review the decision of a United States District Court, without an appea ...
with the Supreme Court on August 21. On September 11, the Solicitor General filed a similar petition urging the Supreme Court to consider taking the case if the court chooses not to accept either the ''Golinski'' or ''Massachusetts'' petitions.''Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management''
Petition for Certiorari Before Judgment
Retrieved September 13, 2012.
The Supreme Court denied these petitions on June 27, 2013, following its decision in ''Windsor''.


Plaintiffs

Joanne Pedersen and Ann Meitzen of Connecticut: Joanne is a retired civilian employee of the Department of the Navy and Ann recently retired from work at a service agency for the elderly and disabled due to a chronic lung ailment. Joanne cannot put Ann on her federal employee health insurance plan because of DOMA, which would save them a significant amount of monthly income. Geraldine and Suzanne Artis of Connecticut: Geraldine, who is studying for a degree in counseling, and Suzanne, a school librarian, have been together for 18 years. They have three sons – a teenager and twin 12-year-olds. Because they cannot file their federal tax returns jointly, they have paid thousands of dollars extra in taxes since they got married in 2009. Gerald "Gerry" Passaro II of Connecticut: Gerry lost his spouse, Thomas Buckholz, to cancer after more than 13 years together. Gerry, who is disabled and lives on a modest income, was denied Tom's pension and a Social Security death benefit because of DOMA. Damon "Jerry" Savoy and John Weiss of Connecticut: Jerry is a federal employee with more than 20 years of service and John left his job as an interior designer to be a stay-at-home parent for their three children. Because of DOMA, Jerry can't cover John on his federal employee health insurance plan so they pay an extra 450.00 per month out of pocket for John's health insurance. James "Flint" Gehre and Bradley Kleinerman of Connecticut: Brad and Flint have been together for more than 20 years. The parents of three boys, they relocated from California to Connecticut to give their kids a better quality of life. But because they cannot file their tax returns jointly they have paid thousands of dollars more in taxes over the course of their three-year marriage. Janet Geller and Joanne Marquis of New Hampshire: Jan and Jo are retired teachers who have been together since 1979. They both receive pensions through the New Hampshire Retirement System. Because Joanne had more than 30 years of public school service, she is qualified for a health insurance benefit for herself and her spouse. But she was denied the spousal benefit for Jan because of DOMA, which means they pay more for Jan's health care coverage. Raquel Ardin and Lynda DeForge of Vermont: Raquel and Lynda are military veterans who have been together since 1977. They worked together for many years at the U.S. Postal Service. Raquel suffers from degenerative arthritis in her neck and requires quarterly medical treatments at a VA hospital in Connecticut. Lynda was denied Family Medical Leave Act time off to accompany Raquel to her appointments.


See also

* Same-sex marriage in the United States


Notes


References


External links


Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management
___ F. Supp. 2d ___, 2012 WL 3113883 (D. Conn. July 31, 2012) – District Court decision {{DEFAULTSORT:Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management 2010 in United States case law Defense of Marriage Act United States same-sex union case law United States Office of Personnel Management