By Tom Watts* This is the third in a series of blog posts previewing some of the conceptual questions that may appear in the same-sex marriage oral arguments on Tuesday. Part I is here, and Part II is here. In previous posts, I discussed whether same-sex marriage bans classify by sexual orientation. If they do, the next question the Supreme Court must answer is what level of scrutiny a sexual orientation classification should receive. Race classifications receive strict scrutiny, which almost …
Same-sex Marriage Preview II
By Tom Watts* This is the second in a series of blog posts previewing some of the conceptual questions that may appear in the same-sex marriage oral arguments on Tuesday. Part I is here. In the previous post, I discussed the prospect of the Supreme Court deciding that a state same-sex marriage ban was a sexual orientation classification on the face of the law. In this post, I’ll consider the route to concluding that the bans should receive scrutiny as sexual orientation classifications …
Same-sex Marriage Preview I
By Tom Watts* This is the first in a series of blog posts previewing some of the conceptual questions that may come up in the same-sex marriage oral arguments on Tuesday. Part II is here. On Tuesday, we will have the legal equivalent of the Super Bowl, a presidential election, and the finale of Seinfeld at all once: oral argument in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage case. The outcome of the case is in as little doubt as in any major case in recent memory: most …