Both principals in an argument Monday said U.S. District Court Judge C. Darnell Jones II of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania does not have to address the constitutional validity of the Defense of Marriage Act in order to decide a benefits distribution dispute between the parents of a deceased Cozen O’Connor partner and her wife.
Both sides provided briefs on the constitutionality of DOMA — which allows states to deny recognition to out-of-state same-sex marriages — but de-emphasized it in favor of arguing over the terms of Cozen O’Connor’s benefits plan.
