New Jersey Court Won’t Hear Marriage Case

With a 3-3 vote, the New Jersey state Supreme Court has rejected hearing a case filed by six same-sex couples who are seeking the right to marry. The three justices who voted against hearing the suite say the case has to follow legal protocol by starting in the lower courts first:

“This matter cannot be decided without the development of an appropriate trial-like record. We reach no conclusion on the merits of the plaintiffs’ allegations regarding the constitutionality of the Civil Union Act.”

The case was filed after the state’s Senate failed to pass legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage, arguing the state’s civil union law that was passed in 2006 fails to provide equal rights and benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples.

If the plaintiff’s opt to pursue the suit, they’ll have to file the case with the Superior Court and it will have to follow the procedure of working its way up to the state’s Supreme Court.

The three justices who voted to hear the case wrote the court should have at least heard oral arguments from both the plaintiffs and defendants in the case.

“At the very least, oral argument would have helped to guide us on the best procedural course for creating such a record. We are disappointed that three members of the court voted to deny the motion without oral argument and that plaintiffs must now begin anew… If the plaintiffs’ allegations are true — and we will not surmise whether they are or are not — then the constitutional inequities should be addressed without any unnecessary delay.”