Madison – Wisconsin’s Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear a challenge to a 2006 constitutional amendment that prohibits marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
The unlikely challenge to the law was filed in 2007 by Bill McConkey, a political science teacher at University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh.
He initially represented himself when he filed his challenge to the amendment, arguing that the ballot measure put to voters asked two questions in one, which violates a section of the state constitution that says voters must have the opportunity to vote for each question separately when amending the Constitution.
Well-known Madison lawyer Lester Pines agreed to represent McConkey when his case was heard by a trial court in Madison.
After hearing the case, Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess ruled a year ago that the ballot measure did not violate the constitution. He ruled that the two questions listed on the ballot “are two sides of the same coin. They clearly relate to the same subject matter.”
McConkey and Pines appealed that ruling. Last month, the Court of Appeals asked the high court to take the case immediately because of its statewide significance.
The Supreme Court will hear the case during its next term which begins this fall and ends in June 2010. No date for oral arguments was set, according to the Journal Sentinel.
Source: State Supreme Court to hear case on gay marriage - JSOnline
Last modified: 15 May 09 02:02
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