Reference no: EM133232918

Question: Question is based on the case Obergefell v. Hodges 135 S.Ct. 2584, 2015 U.S. Lexis 4250 (2015) Supreme Court of the United States answers the following

What is the policy underlying the Due Process Clause?

How did it apply in this case?

What is the policy underlying the Equal Protection Clause?

How did it apply in this case?

How important is the Supreme Court's decision?

Case Study:

Equal Protection Clauses Obergefell v. Hodges 135 S.Ct. 2584, 2015 U.S. Lexis 4250 (2015) Supreme Court of the United States

"Petitioners ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right." Kennedy, Justice

Facts

Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee define marriage as a union between one man and woman. State officials enforced these laws and refused to marry same-sex couples. Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky refused to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states that permit same-sex marriage. Petitioners-same-sex couples-challenged these state laws in U.S. district courts. The petitioners alleged that the challenged state laws violated their liberty as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and also violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Each district court ruled in the petitioner's favor. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit consolidated the cases and reversed the judgments of the district courts. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear the petitioners' appeal.

Issue

Do the challenged state laws that do not permit or recognize same-sex marriages violate the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

Language of the U.S. Supreme Court

Under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, no State shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." This analysis compels the conclusion that same-sex couples may exercise the right to marry. The right to marry thus dignifies couples who wish to define themselves by their commitment to each other. Same-sex couples have the same right as opposite-sex couples to enjoy intimate association.

The right of same-sex couples to marry that is part of the liberty promised by the Fourteenth Amendment is derived, too, from that Amendment's guarantee of equal protection of the laws. Clearly, the challenged laws burden the liberty of same-sex couples, and it must be further acknowledged that they abridge central precepts of equality. The Court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry.

Decision

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that state laws that prohibit same-sex marriage or do not recognize valid same-sex marriages are unconstitutional. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.