A federal judge in Oklahoma on Jan. 14 struck down a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, ruling that the law violated the 14th Amendment. U.S. District Judge Terence Kern said the amendment was unconstitutionally rooted in moral disapproval of same-sex marriage. It marked the second time in less than a month that a federal judge within the Tenth Circuit has struck down a ban on same-sex marriage. The earlier ruling applied in Utah.
CHRISTIE LAWYERS UP
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Randy Mastro will lead a team advising New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on the fallout from last fall’s closing of toll lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge. Four people close to Christie have resigned or been fired because they might have been involved in closing lanes to punish Fort Lee, N.J.’s Democratic mayor. Gibson Dunn will also assist the Christie administration in a separate investigation by U.S. attorney Paul Fishman.
