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Giving the Supreme Court another chance to be on the right side of history is Edith Windsor, who, along with help from the ACLU, has petitioned SCOTUS to bypass a second appeals court and hear her challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act.
Citing her age (83) and poor health, Edith and her lawyers have asked the Court to help her skip a second round with the 2nd Court of Appeals and hear her case against DOMA.
Huffpo has the back story:
Windsor sued the government in 2010, after the death of her partner of more than 40 years forced Windsor to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate tax on her partner's estate.
Windsor and Thea Spyer were married in 2007, in Canada, and while New York recognized the marriage, the federal government did not. When Spyer got sick, she chose to leave her entire estate to Windsor. Had Windsor been married to a man, she would not have had to pay any estate tax, according to court documents; therefore, her suit argues, DOMA violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
On June 6, the New York District Court sided with Windsor. Last month, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn filed a joint amicus brief in support of Windsor.
Edith's lawyer Robert Kaplan filed the petition earlier today. "Edie and Thea were together for more than four decades and truly lived the words 'in sickness and in health, until death do us part,'" said Kaplan. "Solely because of DOMA, Edie had to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate tax, which is one of the most significant adverse impacts of DOMA. Edie, who just turned 83, suffers from a chronic heart condition. The constitutional injury inflicted on Edie should be remedied within her lifetime.”
Edith's petition marks the third DOMA-challenging request presented to SCOTUS.
(Source and image: Huffington Post)
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