Today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) hears oral argument
on California’s Proposition 8 in
Hollingsworth v. Perry, the first of two same-sex marriage cases scheduled for this week. Tomorrow,
SCOTUS will hear the government's challenge to the Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA) in
United States v. Windsor. In the past year already, same-sex litigation has had a
rippling effect in the immigration court system from the top down. The Court’s decisions
in these cases are certain to have a huge domino effect in gay rights
issues and beyond, including immigration. The rulings could lay the foundation
for significant reform for same-sex couples in various immigration contexts
such as family-based petitions, applications for relief in deportation,
asylum, and so on.
It is not too late to get informed on the issues. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law has an incredibly informative page dedicated to the same-sex cases, featuring videos of faculty and experts discussing the issues, backgrounds, and politics of Prop 8 and DOMA. As usual, SCOTUSblog has great resources available on the cases, and it expects to post argument updates as the morning continues.