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First Decision on DOMA's Constitutionality

On Aug. 17, a bankruptcy judge in Washington State became the first federal judge in the country to rule on the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), 1 U.S.C. ' 7. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul B. Snyder held in <i>In re Kandu</i>, No. 03-51312, 2004 Bankr. LEXIS 1233 (8/17/04) that DOMA was not unconstitutional. And, while it may seem that a law this contentious should have garnered at least a few case-law decisions in the 8 years following its enactment, the <i>Kandu</i> case has become the unlikely first because previous litigants lacked standing; they had not actually been married to a same-sex partner.

9 minute read October 01, 2004 at 01:41 PM
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ALM Staff and Law Journal Newsletters
First Decision on DOMA's Constitutionality

On Aug. 17, a bankruptcy judge in Washington State became the first federal judge in the country to rule on the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), 1 U.S.C. '

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