The Second Circuit became the the second in the nation to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional. In Windsor v. United States, 12-2335-cv, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a ruling by Southern District Judge Barbara Jones that the 1996 law that defines marriage as involving a man and a woman was unconstitutional.
A majority of the three-judge Second Circuit panel, in a ruling by Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs concluded that the definition violated the Equal Protection Clause. Its opinion joined an earlier decision by the First Circuit in Boston.
A majority of the three-judge Second Circuit panel, in a ruling by Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs concluded that the definition violated the Equal Protection Clause. Its opinion joined an earlier decision by the First Circuit in Boston.