Court of Appeals Judge Lynne A. Battaglia issued lengthy dissent against majority's conclusion that Maryland's statutory prohibition against same-sex marriage does not violate Maryland's Equal Rights Amendment. (Image from Maryland State Archives website.)
Maryland's highest court, the Court of Appeals, often is a hospitable place for criminal defendants and individual rights, but not always, of course. On September 18, 2007, a 4-3 Court of Appeals majority ruled that Maryland's statutory prohibition against same-sex marriages does not violate Maryland's Equal Rights Amendment.
In an in-depth, well-analyzed, and firm dissent, joined by Chief Judge Robert Bell, Judge Lynne A. Battaglia (a past Clinton-era Maryland U.S. Attorney) insisted: "I would remand this case to the Circuit Court for a full evidentiary hearing. Without expressing an ultimate opinion on whether the State could meet its burden, I believe the State’s unrebutted contention regarding the broad societal interest in retaining traditional marriage presents an issue of triable fact that requires a remand."
The case is Conaway v. Deane, __ Md. _ (September 18, 2007). Jon Katz.
