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Supreme Court could decide tomorrow whether to take Mich. marriage case

DeBoer Rowse Adoption Legal Fund

The U.S. Supreme Court could decide tomorrow whether a challenge to same-sex marriage bans in Michigan and three other states will get a hearing.

This will be the court’s first case conference of the new year. 

The Michigan case could be heard with other states in the U.S. Court of Appeals’ sixth circuit. The sixth circuit ruled last year that it’s up to voters or state legislatures to decide whether same-sex couples can get married. Other circuits ruled differently. So, it would be up to the Supreme Court to settle the question for the entire country if it takes the case.

The case was originally filed in 2012 by April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, a couple in Oakland County seeking the right to jointly adopt the children they’re raising together.

There’s also a second Michigan case up for discussion by the justices. It’s an employment discrimination case out of Kalamazoo County.  

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987.