A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit yesterday held in Windsor v. United States, 12-2335-cv, that a federal law defining marriage as solely between one man and one woman violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.
In an appeal resolved just three weeks after oral argument, Judges Dennis Jacobs (See Profile) and Christopher Droney (See Profile) held that the definition of “marriage” in §3 of the Defense of Marriage Act violates the rights of Edith Schlain Windsor because it bars the Internal Revenue Service from recognizing her as the spouse of the late Thea Spyer for purposes of the marriage exemption from the estate tax.
