The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8, on March 26.
The court agreed in early December to review Perry to consider whether Proposition 8 violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Perry case was filed on May 22, 2009, in U.S. District Court on behalf of two California couples, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo.
On Feb. 7, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco issued a landmark ruling upholding the August 2010 decision of the U.S. District Court that found Proposition 8 unconstitutional.
Also, on March 27, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in United States v. Windsor, a challenge to the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
Enacted by Congress in 1996, DOMA nullifies the marriages of gay and lesbian couples for all purposes of federal law.
The Supreme Court will receive written briefs from the parties in Perry and Windsor prior to hearing oral argument.
The court is expected to rule on the cases by late June.
