Lawyers on both sides have submitted their final briefs in a New Jersey case that may decide whether the U.S. Supreme Court's partial voiding of the Defense of Marriage Act mandates legalizing of same-sex marriage in the state.
Lawrence Lustberg, the attorney representing same-sex couples, told Mercer County Assignment Judge Mary Jacobson that the issue is ripe for summary judgment, arguing "there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether same- and different-sex couples in new Jersey receive the same rights: they do not." He added that "withholding judgment on their behalf would subject Plaintiffs and, indeed, all same-sex couples in New Jersey to not only real but unnecessary hardship."
