Bostic v. Schaefer, 760 F.3d 352 (4th Cir. 2014)

The plaintiffs in Bostic v. Schaefer, 760 F.3d 352 (4th Cir. 2014), were two same-sex couples (one unmarried and seeking a marriage license, one married and seeking legal recognition) who sought to overturn Virginia’s prohibitions against same-sex marriage. They alleged violations of the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses. To determine constitutional violations, the Fourth Circuit analyzed (1) whether the plaintiffs had standing, (2) whether an earlier Supreme Court case that dismissed a challenge to same-sex marriage prohibition laws barred the plaintiffs from litigating, and (3) if heightened scrutiny applied. Only one of the couples needed standing, and the unmarried couple had standing because they were denied a marriage license. The Supreme Court had dismissed an earlier case, Baker v. Nelson, 409 U.S. 810, 93 S. Ct. 37 (1972), stating that challenging marriage prohibition was not a federal question; therefore, later suits could not litigate the same issue. This Court held that Baker does not prevent the parties from litigating because cases after Baker showed the philosophy of the Supreme Court had changed. The Court held that strict scrutiny, rather than rational basis, applied. The Court denied that marriage prohibitions served any compelling interests, so the laws were determined to have violated both the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. 

Topics

• LGBTIQ

Geographical location

• North America
• United States
• Virginia

Keywords

• marriage equality
• judicial review
• constitutional rights

Year

• 2014

External URL

• Bostic v. Schaefer, 760 F.3d 352 (4th Cir. 2014)

Court

• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• United States