LITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday directed attorneys to provide legal justification for their stances on whether the court should grant a second round of arguments in a pending same-sex marriage case.
On Jan. 23, newly sworn-in Attorney General Leslie Rutledge asked the seven-member court to hear additional arguments on the state's appeal of a May ruling finding the state same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. Rutledge cited a change in the high court's makeup since arguments were heard Nov. 20 as the reason for the second round.
In a Jan. 27 response, attorneys for the plaintiffs, whose case led to the ban being declared unconstitutional, objected, saying a second round of arguments is "unprecedented" and the case should be decided by the justices who heard the arguments. The attorneys noted Robert McCorkindale, who sat as a special justice during the arguments, was appointed specifically for that purpose by then-Gov. Mike Beebe, after Justice Cliff Hoofman recused.
Hoofman retired Dec. 31 and was replaced by Justice Rhonda Wood, who previously served on the Arkansas Court of Appeals.
Meanwhile, Donald Corbin, who was among the justices who heard arguments Nov. 20, also retired Dec. 31. He has been replaced by Robin Wynne, who also moved to the Supreme Court from the Court of Appeals.
The court hasn't said when it intends to rule on the case or which justices would participate in the ruling. On the day of the arguments, the court noted Chief Justice Jim Hannah, who wasn't present because he was attending an out-of-state conference, would participate in the case and would have access to a video of the arguments.
An order issued Thursday by the court as a whole noted that, "In their pleadings, the parties have taken competing positions regarding the justices who will serve on this case. Accordingly, we direct the parties to advise this court by formal response, within thirty days of this order, of any authority supporting their respective positions regarding the justices who preside over this case."
The decision the state is appealing was rendered May 9 by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza, who found Amendment 83 to the state constitution violated state and federal protections and struck it down. Amendment 83, approved by 75 percent of the state's voters in 2004, prohibited gay marriage in Arkansas. Piazza's ruling struck down the amendment and older legislation that together also prevented same-sex marriages performed in other states from being recognized in Arkansas.
The 2013 lawsuit challenging Amendment 83 was filed the week after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, effectively extending federal recognition of marriage to legally wed same-sex couples. The suit in Pulaski County Circuit Court eventually grew to include 43 plaintiffs, including 21 same-sex couples, led by M. Kendall Wright and Julia E. Wright of White County.
A similar Arkansas lawsuit filed in federal court in 2013 led to a Nov. 25 ruling by U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker declaring the state's ban unconstitutional. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said this week it will hear arguments May 11 in Omaha, Neb., in that case, in conjunction with arguments in cases from two other states -- South Dakota and Missouri -- this spring.
The May arguments are expected to take place before the U.S. Supreme Court decides an appeal from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which recently upheld same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
NW News on 02/06/2015