''Baskin v. Bogan'', the lead

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

case challenging that state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples, was filed in federal district court on March 12, 2014, naming several government officials as defendants. Chief Judge Richard L. Young found for the plaintiffs on June 25. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the district court ruling in a unanimous decision on September 4.

District court proceedings

Lambda Legal filed ''Baskin v. Bogan'' in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on March 12, 2014, on behalf of three same-sex couples, all women. Their complaint named as defendants Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and three county clerks, with one of the county clerks, Penny Bogan, in her official capacity, as the first-named defendant.

Emergency order

''Baskin'' took precedence over the other Indiana marriage cases because one of the plaintiffs, Nikole Quasney, was terminally ill with

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

. As to her and her partner, U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young granted immediate relief, issuing a 28-day duration emergency order on April 10 and, after oral arguments on May 8 on a motion for

summary judgment In law, a summary judgment, also referred to as judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition, is a Judgment (law), judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full Trial (law), trial. Summa ...

, a

preliminary injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...

directing the state parties to recognize the validity of the Quasney's Massachusetts marriage. In doing so, the court temporarily withdrew the motion for as to the rest of the plaintiffs, with Judge Young reasoning it makes a stronger case for the terminally ill couple while also allowing the rest a resolution on the merits without causing undue confusion in case of an appeal. The state filed an

interlocutory appeal An interlocutory appeal (or interim appeal) occurs when a ruling by a trial court is appealed while other aspects of the case are still proceeding. The rules governing how and when interlocutory appeals may be taken vary by jurisdiction. United St ...

of this limited injunction on May 9, 2014, and that portion of the case was briefed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit under the name of ''Baskin v. Zoeller'', where it was docketed as No. 14-2037. Since the plaintiffs have since received a favorable ruling as to the broader issue of same-sex marriage in general, and that issue was appealed as well (see below), this more limited appeal was dismissed by the circuit court on July 14, 2014; with the emergency order remaining in place.

District court ruling

On June 25, 2014, the U.S. district court ruled as to the case of the remaining plaintiffs in ''Baskin'', as well as the cases of ''Fujii'' and ''Lee''. District Judge Richard L. Young found in favor of the plaintiff couples, granting them summary judgment and striking down Indiana's ban on same-sex marriage, while removing Indiana Governor

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

from the lawsuit. Judge Young commented: The judge found that Indiana's ban violated the Fourteenth Amendment under both due process and equal protection theories and that the state had no

rational basis In U.S. constitutional law, rational basis review is the normal standard of review that courts apply when considering constitutional questions, including due process or equal protection questions under the Fifth Amendment or Fourteenth Amendment ...

for instituting its ban:

Absence of stay

The district court did not issue a stay, and as a result, Indiana clerks began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples the day of the ruling. As many as 800 to 1,000 marriage licenses may have been issued in Indiana before the Seventh Circuit brought license issuance to a halt two days later.

Court of Appeals proceedings

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller appealed the District Court's decisions in ''Baskin v. Bogan'', ''Fujii'' (appealed '' sub nom. Fujii v. Commissioner of the Indiana State Dep't of Revenue''), and ''Lee'' (appealed ''sub nom. Abbott v. Lee''.) On June 27, the Seventh Circuit ''

sua sponte In law, ''sua sponte'' (Latin: "of his, her, its, or their own accord") or ''suo motu/suo moto'' ("on its own motion") describes an act of authority taken without formal prompting by another party. The term is usually applied to actions taken by a ...

'' consolidated the cases for briefing and disposition. On the same day, a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit, U.S. Circuit Judges

Richard Posner Richard Allen Posner (; born January 11, 1939) is an American legal scholar and retired United States circuit judge who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1981 to 2017. A senior lecturer at the University of Chicag ...

, Ann Claire Williams, and David F. Hamilton, granted an emergency stay of the prevailing same-sex marriage cases for the duration of their appeal. On July 2, the same panel granted a motion for one couple's marriage to be recognized immediately because one plaintiff's terminal illness, allowing Amy Sandler and Niki Quasney to become the first same-sex couple legally married in Indiana. The Seventh Circuit set a briefing schedule to be completed on September 19.

Dismissal of interlocutory appeal

As the ''Baskin'' plaintiffs had received a favorable final ruling in U.S. district court that was appealed to the Seventh Circuit (No. 14-2386), the previous interlocutory appeal pending there (No. 14-2037) was in essence duplicate litigation. On a joint motion from the plaintiffs and defendants, on July 14, 2014, the circuit court dismissed this appeal.

Consolidation of cases

On motion from the plaintiffs, the Seventh Circuit combined ''Baskin'' and its companion cases with a similar case on appeal from the Western District of Wisconsin, '' Wolf v. Walker''. The circuit court also expedited proceedings by ordering completion of briefings by August 5. On July 11, the state defendants filed a motion in the circuit court to have the case heard ''

en banc In law, an ''en banc'' (; alternatively ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank''; ) session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges. For courts like the United States Courts of Appeal ...

''. Without responding to that motion, on July 14, the Seventh Circuit scheduled oral arguments before a three-judge panel. Judges

, David Hamilton, and Ann Claire Williams heard arguments on August 26 in this case and '' Wolf v. Walker''.

Court of Appeals ruling

On September 4, the Seventh Circuit, in a unanimous opinion authored by Judge

, upheld the district court decision. He wrote:

Court of Appeals stay of ruling

On September 15, the Seventh Circuit granted a motion for a stay of ruling, to be in effect until this case or one like it is resolved at the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Supreme Court denial of appeal

On October 6, 2014, the Supreme Court denied a

writ of 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 a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

to the combined appeal with Wisconsin, letting the circuit court decision stand.Order List 10/06/14, https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/100614zor.pdf, pg 40

References

External links

Opinion, ''Baskin v. Bogan'' and ''Wolf v. Walker'', September 4, 2014, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
* {{Same-sex marriage in the United States LGBTQ rights in Indiana Legal history of Indiana United States same-sex union case law 2014 in United States case law 2014 in Indiana United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit cases 2014 in LGBTQ history LGBTQ history in Indiana