Developments in the DOMA case, Bishop v. USA: the DoJ reprises its defense of the federal DOMA

Bishop v. USA, No. 4:04-cv-00848 (Okla. N. Dist.), amended complaint filed 08/10/09

Bishop v. USA, No. 4:04-cv-00848 (Okla. N. Dist.), brief by Department of Justice supporting motion to dismiss, file 10/13/09

Bishop v. USA, No. 4:04-cv-00848 (Okla. N. Dist.), dismissal by Judge Terence Kern of Oklahoma as a party, filed 11/24/09

In August, two lesbian couples in Oklahoma filed an amended complaint in their lawsuit to challenge sections 2 and 3 of the federal DOMA. In October, the Department of Justice filed a brief supporting its motion to dismiss their claims against the United States. DoJ argues - quite plausibly - that the plaintiff couples lack standing, and - quite implausibly - that section 3 warrants "a presumption of constitutionality." On the latter question, readers of the DoJ's Bishop brief will find that some of the arguments reprise those already made, and made again, in Gill v. OPM.