6th Circuit Court of Appeals to hear 5 marriage equality cases Wednesday

It will be a busy day in Cincinnati this Wednesday as a three-judge panel in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear appeals in 5 marriage equality cases from 4 different states.

Some of the cases address the freedom to marry directly, while some challenge states that refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

All five cases will be heard by the same three-judge panel, consisting of former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Deborah L. Cook, 62; ex-state Solicitor Jeffrey Sutton, 53; and Martha Craig “Cissy” Daughtrey, 72. Daughtrey was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, while Cook and Sutton were picked by President George W. Bush in 2003.

Of the five cases, two are from Ohio:

• Obergefell, et al v. Himes, et al, is an appeal from a decision by U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black on Dec. 23, 2013, that required the state of Ohio to recognize same-sex marriages on death certificates issued by the state.

• Henry, et al v. Himes, is an appeal from another Black ruling, this one on April 14, 2014, that ordered the state to recognize valid same-sex marriages legally performed in states that allow such marriages.

The other three cases are from Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee:

• DeBoer, et al v. Snyder, et al, is an appeal from an order by Judge Bernard A. Friedman on March 21, 2014, that struck down as unconstitutional Michigan’s ban on gay marriage.

• Bourke, et al v. Beshear, et al, stems from an order by Judge John G. Heyburn II on Feb. 12, 2014, declaring that Kentucky law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by refusing to recognize marriages legally performed in other states.

• Tanco, et al v. Haslam, et al, is an appeal from a decision by Judge Aleta A. Trauger ordering Tennessee to recognize marriages of three couples legally married outside the state.