From the Washington Blade

Md. judges likely know how they will rule in marriage case

by Joshua Lynsen

Friday, December 15, 2006

Maryland's seven high court judges likely already know how they'll rule in the case for marriage equality, according to court information. But their decision cannot be publicly revealed until the majority and, if necessary, dissenting opinions have been written. "It's going to be a nail-biting year for those of us involved in this lawsuit," said Dan Furmansky, Equality Maryland executive director. Nine gay and lesbian couples asked the Maryland Court of Appeals on Dec. 4 to overturn a state law that bans same-sex marriage. The couples, along with a gay man whose partner died, asked the court to uphold a lower court's ruling earlier this year that struck down a 1973 state law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. According to court information, the seven Court of Appeals judges privately revealed their votes to each other the same day they heard the case. "When the cases docketed for that day are completed, the judges will retire to the conference room for discussion and a tentative vote on each case," said a court overview distributed before the Dec. 4 hearing. The overview notes that votes were cast in reverse order of seniority. In addition to revealing their vote, each judge also stated his or her views on the case. At that point, the senior judge among the majority chose the opinion's author. Any dissenting judges decided among themselves who will write their opinion. The overview notes that work on the majority opinion cannot begin until any dissenting opinion is drafted. It also notes that dissenting opinions can sway judges. If the dissenting opinion ultimately wins majority backing, a new majority opinion must be prepared. Court of Appeals spokesperson Rita Buettner said the court takes an average of 117 days -- or just under four months -- to issue its decisions.