On July 28, 2014 the

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland ...

upheld a ruling in ''

Bostic v. Schaefer ''Bostic v. Schaefer'' (formerly ''Bostic v. McDonnell'' and ''Bostic v. Rainey'') is a lawsuit filed in federal court in July 2013 that challenged Virginia's refusal to sanction same-sex marriages. The plaintiffs won in U.S. district court in Fe ...

'' striking down Virginia's same-sex marriage ban which is a

precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...

for every state within the circuit. The ruling would have gone into effect on August 21, 2014 but the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

granted the stay request by the clerk of

Prince William County Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...

. Attorneys for two same-sex couples had until August 18, 2014 to respond to the stay request. The

Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland ...

consists of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. Maryland was the first state in the circuit to enact gay marriage by legislative act and confirmed by a voter referendum. That occurred prior to the Fourth Circuit Court ruling that was denied review at the Supreme Court, which led to same-sex marriage expansion to Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. North Carolina Attorney General

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 20 ...

announced soon after the ruling that he would no longer defend NC's ban on same-sex unions in court, saying "Our office believes the judges in North Carolina are bound by this 4th Circuit decision," he said. "In addition, the State of North Carolina will acknowledge the 4th Circuit opinion that marriage is a fundamental right." On August 8, 2014, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring asked the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

to review the Fourth Circuit's decision. Even though Herring supports marriage for same-sex couples, he asked for review because " e question presented is vital to a large population of same-sex couples, to their children, and to their fellow Americans who believe that discriminating against gay people is both unfair and unconstitutional. They may fairly call this 'the defining civil rights issue of our time.'" On October 6, 2014, the Supreme Court denied

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

for the appeal, making the Fourth Circuit's decision final. Virginia promptly began solemnizing same-sex marriages. On November 20, 2014, the Supreme Court declined to issue a stay on a lower District Court ruling overturning South Carolina's same-sex marriage ban, removing all legal obstacles to same-sex marriage in South Carolina. Same-sex marriage is legal in every state within the circuit.

References

{{reflist United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit 4

See also

References