Jay Kaplan, LGBT Project Staff AttorneyToday could be a big day for marriage equality in Michigan.
Judge Bernard Friedman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan will hear arguments and may issue a decision in a lawsuit filed by an Oakland County lesbian couple challenging Michigan’s marriage ban.
The ACLU filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the argument that denying Michigan families marriage and second parent adoptions is unconstitutional.
The couple, who have been together for more than a decade and who would like to both share legal responsibility for their children in the form of a second-parent adoption, amended their adoption lawsuit in September 2012 to challenge the marriage ban as well.
A lot of rumors have been swirling around about what it would mean for couples wishing to get married if Judge Freidman strikes the marriage ban from Michigan’s constitution. While there are many ways in which Judge Friedman could decide the case, we’d like to clarify one scenario in which couples may be given a small window of opportunity to get married following his ruling.
When judges rule, they have the option of issuing a “stay” which would put their decision on hold because they know that an appeal is likely. If a judge chooses not to issue a “stay,” the losing side can still ask the Court of Appeals to do so. Unless and until the Court of Appeals issues a stay, the lower court ruling remains in effect.
Following this logic, if Judge Friedman issues a favorable decision striking down Michigan’s marriage ban and does not stay his decision immediately, he may create the much talked about window for gay couples to get married legally in this state. That window might last for a few minutes, hours, or days before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rules on whether a stay should be granted while the State of Michigan pursues an appeal.
While this would be very exciting, it’s important to consider the risks and benefits of getting married during this period of time. To that end, we’ve included answers to several questions below that may help couples make an informed decision if this hypothetical situation becomes a reality.