Norfolk Same Sex Marriage Ruling Appealed

4th Circuit Court of Appeals - Richmond, Virginia

As anticipated the U. S. District Court ruling in Bostic v. Rainey has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit.   Now the schedule for filing the transcript of the lower court record and briefing by the parties begins.  As noted before on this blog and elsewhere, the case may end up going to the United States Supreme Court unless that court enters a definitive ruling on same sex marriage in one of the cases moving through the federal court system from Utah or Oklahoma.  Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

As expected, a Norfolk federal judge’s decision declaring Virginia’s gay-marriage ban unconstitutional was appealed today.

An appeal on behalf of Norfolk Circuit Court Clerk George Schaefer, one of the defendants, was filed this afternoon shortly after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen entered her final order in the case.

Schaefer is represented by David Oakley, a Virginia Beach attorney.

A few minutes later, Virginia Solicitor General Stuart Raphael filed an appeal on behalf of another defendant, State Registrar of Vital Records Janet Rainey.

That means arguments over Virginia’s constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage, the first in the Southeast to be overthrown in court, will be heard by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. Depending on the timing, the case could ultimately result in a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court resolving the gay-marriage issue for the nation.

“A prompt and fair resolution of this very important issue by the courts is critical,” Schaefer said in a statement.

“My personal beliefs on same-sex marriage are not at issue in this case,” Schaefer said, adding that he is appealing the decision in order to assure a full airing of the issue and obtain clarity for Virginia’s circuit court clerks, whose duties include issuing marriage licenses.

A Norfolk couple, Tim Bostic and Tony London, sued Schaefer last summer after he refused to issue them a marriage license. A Chesterfield County couple, Carol Schall and Mary Townley, joined the case two months later. Schall’s and Townley’s 2008 marriage in California was not recognized in Virginia.

Wright Allen delayed implementation of her order pending the outcome of the appeals.