MA Family Institute Amicus Brief - Mass DOMA Cases
MA Family Institute Amicus Brief - Mass DOMA Cases
MA Family Institute Amicus Brief - Mass DOMA Cases
Stephen C. Whiting
Bar No. 56033
The Whiting Law Firm
75 Pearl Street, Suite 207
Portland, ME 04101
Tel: (207) 780-0681
Fax: (207) 780-0682
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Amicus curiae, Massachusetts Family Institute, has not issued shares to the
public, and it has no parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate that has issued shares
to the public. As it has no stock, there is no publicly held corporation that owns
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARGUMENT ............................................................................................................. 2
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases
Adams v. Howerton,
673 F.2d 1036 (9th Cir. 1982) ........................................................................ 8
Baker v. Nelson,
409 U.S. 810 (1972) .................................................................................... 1, 2
Baker v. Nelson,
291 Minn. 310, 191 N.W.2d 185 (Minn. 1971) ............................................. 2
Boggs v. Boggs,
520 U.S. 833 (1997) ........................................................................................ 7
Edelman v. Jordan,
415 U.S. 651 (1974) ...................................................................................... 10
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Hicks v. Miranda,
422 U.S. 332 (1975) ..................................................................................5, 10
Hopfmann v. Connolly,
471 U.S. 459 (1985) ........................................................................................ 3
Mandel v. Bradley,
432 U.S. 173 (1977) ..............................................................................5, 6, 10
Miller v. California,
413 U.S. 15 (1973) .......................................................................................... 4
Miller v. California,
418 U.S. 915 (1974) ........................................................................................ 4
Neely v. Newton,
149 F.3d 1074 (10th Cir. 1998) ...................................................................... 7
Walker v. Mississippi,
No. 3:04CV140LS, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98320 (S.D. Miss. Apr.
11, 2006) ......................................................................................................... 8
Wilson v. Ake,
354 F. Supp. 2d 1298 (M.D. Fla. 2005) ..................................................... 1, 8
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Other Sources
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dedicated to strengthening the family and upholding traditional moral values in the
public policy and cultural arenas. Founded in 1991, MFI is a strong supporter of
physicians, lawyers, and university professors. The case at bar is of the utmost
interest to MFI. The family values espoused by MFI directly conflict with the
“marriages” will have on American society, moral principles, and the family.
counsel authored any part of the brief nor contributed money that was intended to
fund preparing or submitting the brief; and no person—other than the amicus
curiae, its members, or its counsel—contributed money that was intended to fund
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
These cases are not the first challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act
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defended the law, in part due to the binding precedent of Baker v. Nelson, 409 U.S.
810 (1972). See, e.g., Wilson v. Ake, 354 F. Supp. 2d 1298, 1304-05 (M.D. Fla.
2005). But in these cases, surprisingly, the Department of Justice has not
mentioned Baker v. Nelson. But because Baker is controlling precedent, this Court
must consider it. This brief provides the Court with the missing argument that the
Supreme Court has foreclosed assertions that there is a fundamental right to same-
ARGUMENT
In Baker v. Nelson, 409 U.S. 810 (1972) (“appeal dismissed for want of a
substantial federal question”), the United States Supreme Court considered and
rejected the claims by two Minnesota men that Minnesota’s exclusion of same-sex
couples from marriage violated the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S.
Constitution. The Court affirmed the Minnesota Supreme Court’s ruling that there
Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and that excluding same-sex
under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. See Baker v.
Nelson, 291 Minn. 310, 311-13, 191 N.W.2d 185, 186-87 (Minn. 1971). Although
the question presented in Baker v. Nelson was in the context of the Minnesota law
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rather than DOMA, the laws are identical in their definition of marriage as the
Court, with no opinion from the Court. Indeed, under current rules, review of a
State Supreme Court decision is entirely discretionary under the U.S. Supreme
Court’s certiorari jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1257(a). “Cert. denied” now has little,
if any, precedential effect. See Hopfmann v. Connolly, 471 U.S. 459, 460-61
certiorari has no precedential effect). But the Supreme Court jurisdictional rules
1
Prior to this case, the Justice Department agreed. “Because Baker specifically
resolved due process and equal protection challenges to the traditional definition of
marriage . . . Baker remains the governing precedent with respect to marriage.”
Brief for Appellee United States at 16, Smelt v. Cnty. of Orange, 447 F.3d 673 (9th
Cir. 2005) (No. 05-56040).
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treaties or laws of the United States, and the decision is in favor of its
validity.
28 U.S.C. § 1257 (as amended July 29, 1970, Publ. L. 91-358, 84 Stat. 590)
(emphasis added). Because the Minnesota Supreme Court decided that the
Minnesota statute was valid under the U.S. Constitution, 28 U.S.C § 1257 gave the
Miranda, 422 U.S. 332 (1975), the Supreme Court described the significance of an
movie theater owner filed suit in federal court, seeking an injunction against
enforcement of California’s obscenity statute on the ground that it violated the U.S.
v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973) (Miller I) and held that the California obscenity
statute did not meet the Miller standards and was, therefore, unconstitutional.
Hicks, 422 U.S. at 340. But six weeks later, in Miller v. California, 418 U.S. 915
(1974) (Miller II), the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed for want of a substantial
federal question a subsequent appeal from a state court decision upholding the
422 U.S. at 340. The three-judge Hicks panel, however, rejected a motion to
reconsider and concluded that it was not bound by the Supreme Court’s dismissal
of Miller II. Hicks, 422 U.S. at 341. The Supreme Court, however, disagreed:
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case in which an appeal was dismissed for want of a substantial federal question in
Mandel v. Bradley, 432 U.S. 173, 176 (1977) (per curiam). In Mandel, the Court
criticized a three-judge panel for assuming that Hicks meant that a summary
affirmance of a district court opinion meant that the Court had adopted the
reasoning (and not just the judgment) of the decision being appealed. It reiterated
its statement in Hicks that “‘[a]scertaining the reach and content of summary
actions may itself present issues of real substance.’” Id. (quoting Hicks, 422 U.S. at
345 n.14). The Court also reaffirmed and clarified the significance of a dismissal
Mandel, 432 U.S. at 176 (emphasis added). The elimination of the Court’s
appellate jurisdiction in 1988 does not change the applicability of this rule to
current cases. 16B Charles A. Wright et al., Federal Practice and Procedure §
4014 (2d ed. 2010) (“Abolition of the appeal jurisdiction does not change this rule.
on other grounds, Mandel v. Bradley, 432 U.S. 173 (1977).” 2 See, e.g., Postscript
Enters., Inc. v. Peach, 878 F.2d 1114, 1116 (8th Cir. 1989); Commc'ns Telesystems
Int’l v. California Pub. Util. Comm’n, 196 F.3d 1011, 1016 (9th Cir. 1999);
American Constitutional Law Found., Inc. v. Meyer, 113 F.3d 1245, No. 94-1145,
1997 WL 282874, at *4 (10th Cir. May 29, 1997) (unpublished table decision).
But in Auburn Police Union v. Carpenter, 8 F.3d 886 (1st Cir. 1993), this Court
correctly cites Hicks as holding that “[t]he Supreme Court’s summary disposition
2
It is noteworthy that these cases fail to identify the ruling in Hicks that Mandel
purportedly overruled. In any event, Mandel did not purport to overrule Hicks.
Only Justice Brennan’s concurrence, which no other Justice joined, claimed that
Mandel created a new rule. Id. at 179-80 (Brennan, J., concurring). But the rule
Justice Brennan stated differs from the rule stated in the per curiam opinion.
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courts.” Id. at 894. The Supreme Court agrees that this Court’s interpretation of
U.S. 833, 849 (1997) (citing Hicks’ holding on this point); Middlesex Cnty. Ethics
Comm. v. Garden State Bar Ass’n, 457 U.S. 423, 436 (1982) (following abstention
holding in Hicks). Many other courts agree that Hicks stands as controlling
question. See, e.g., Ass’n of Cleveland Fire Fighters v. City of Cleveland, 502 F.3d
545, 549 (6th Cir. 2007) (citing Hicks as authority that the Supreme Court’s
decision on the merits”); Green v. City of Tucson, 255 F.3d 1086, 1099 (9th Cir.
2001) (citing abstention holding in Hicks); Neely v. Newton, 149 F.3d 1074, 1078
(10th Cir. 1998) (citing precedential discussion in Hicks); Soto-Lopez v. New York
City Civil Serv. Comm’n, 755 F.2d 266, 272 (2d Cir. 1985) (same).
the merits of the appeal in Baker v. Nelson, and the dismissal of the appeal for
want of a substantial federal question was a definitive decision on the merits of the
precise issues presented on appeal. As a result, other federal courts may not decide
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that the issue presented to the Court in Baker presents a substantial federal question
Baker is not limited to just the Minnesota state law that its plaintiffs
challenged. Courts that have discussed the nature of the dismissal in Baker have
recognized the binding nature of the decision regarding the definition of marriage
in various contexts, including DOMA. See, e.g., Adams v. Howerton, 673 F.2d
1036, 1039 n. 2 (9th Cir. 1982) (denying marital recognition for purposes of
federal immigration law and noting that the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the
Baker appeal “operates as a decision on the merits”) (citation omitted) cert. denied,
458 U.S. 1111 (1982); Walker v. Mississippi, No. 3:04CV140LS, 2006 U.S. Dist.
challenge of Mississippi law defining marriage as the union of one man and one
woman because “until the United States Supreme Court makes a different
pronouncement on the issues decided in Baker, other federal courts must reach the
same result on those issues”); Wilson v. Ake, 354 F. Supp. 2d 1298, 1305 (M.D.
Fla. 2005) (“Baker v. Nelson is binding precedent upon this Court and Plaintiffs’
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claim of a fundamental right to marry, “fully protected by the due process and
Connecticut, 401 U.S. 371 (1971); Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967); Griswold
v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965); Skinner v. Oklahoma, 316 U.S. 535 (1942);
Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 535 (1923). The right-to-privacy argument of the
Baker appellants relied on Griswold, Loving, and Boddie, id. at 18-19, and the
Supreme Court’s dismissal of the Baker appeal for want of a substantial federal
As a result, the Supreme Court has held that there is no federal due
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disregard this pronouncement.”4 Hicks, 422 U.S. at 344. Yet the district court did
exactly that when it entertained the Gill plaintiffs’ claims that DOMA violates their
federal due process and equal protection right to same-sex “marriage.” Second
Am. and Supplemental Compl. for Declaratory, Injunctive, or Other Relief and for
Review of Agency Decision at paras. 432, 444, 452, 467, 482, 491, 500, 509, 518,
527, 536, 545, 554, 563, 573, 583, 592, 601, 609, 617, 626, 630, Gill v. Office of
violations “of the right of equal protection secured by the Fifth Amendment”).
This is the same issue that Baker v. Nelson addressed, and the district court and this
Court “do not have the authority to refuse to follow a binding precedent from the
Supreme Court of the United States.” Irving v. U.S., 162 F.3d 154, 187 (1st Cir.
3
Baker, of course, does not foreclose challenges to DOMA under other
Constitutional provisions. In particular, Baker does not prevent this Court from
weighing the merits of Massachusetts’ arguments that DOMA violates the Tenth
Amendment and Spending Clause. But as described in the briefs of defendants and
other amici, it is well-established that Congress has the authority to regulate
marriage for federal purposes.
4
Although Baker may not have the same precedential weight before the U.S.
Supreme Court as plenary consideration would have, Edelman v. Jordan, 415 U.S.
651, 670-71 (1974), the issues “necessarily decided” prevent other federal courts
from reaching opposite conclusions. Mandel, 432 U.S. at 176.
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Baker, courts cannot disregard Baker’s holding that there is no equal protection or
CONCLUSION
As this Court accurately stated, “invocation of constitutional authority,
without more, cannot breathe life into a theory already pronounced dead by the
Supreme Court in binding precedent.” E. Bridge, LLC v. Chao, 320 F.3d 84, 91
(1st Cir. 2003). The Supreme Court’s binding precedent of Baker v. Nelson
rejected the theory that equal protection and substantive due process require that
people of the same gender can marry. Because that theory has been “pronounced
dead by the Supreme Court” in Baker v. Nelson, this Court must reverse the district
court’s decision.
For the foregoing reasons, and for additional reasons stated in the Appellees’
Respectfully submitted,
this 27th day of January 2011
s/ Stephen C. Whiting
Stephen C. Whiting
Bar No. 56033
The Whiting Law Firm
75 Pearl Street, Suite 207
Portland, ME 04101
Tel: (207) 780-0681
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CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
32(a)(7)(B) because this brief contains 2480 words, excluding the parts of the brief
32(a)(5) and the type style requirements of Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(6) because this
brief has been prepared in a proportionally spaced typeface using Microsoft Word
s/ Stephen C. Whiting
Stephen C. Whiting
Bar No. 56033
The Whiting Law Firm
75 Pearl Street, Suite 207
Portland, ME 04101
Tel: (207) 780-0681
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on January 27, 2011, I have electronically filed the
foregoing Brief Amicus Curiae of the Massachusetts Family Institute in the
consolidated cases of Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and
Human Services and Hara, Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management, Nos. 10-
2204, 10-2207 and 10-2214, with the Clerk of the Court for the United States
Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by using the appellate CM/ECF system.
I certify that all participants in the case are registered CM/ECF users and
will be served by the appellate CM/ECF system.
s/ Stephen C. Whiting
Stephen C. Whiting
Bar No. 56033
The Whiting Law Firm
75 Pearl Street, Suite 207
Portland, ME 04101
Tel: (207) 780-0681
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Addendum
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