Professor Joslin Helps Draft Amicus Brief in Defense of Marriage Act Case

Professor Courtney Joslin helped to draft an amicus brief submitted by a group of family and child welfare law professors to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit regarding the Defense of Marriage Act case Windsor v. United States.  In the case, a woman is suing the federal government for failing to recognize her same-sex marriage, which has meant that she has been forced to pay more than $360,000 in estate taxes that she would not have owed if she had been married to a man.  The brief argues in support of the federal district court's ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act does "not pass constitutional muster."  King Hall's Professor Lisa Ikemoto is also a signatory to the brief. 

Professor Joslin is a scholar in the field of family and relationship recognition, with a particular focus on same-sex and non-marital couples.