Breaking Tweets from Inside Supreme Court DOMA Arguments

Reports from inside of the Supreme Court DOMA arguments are beginning to emerge via Twitter.

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REUTERS:

Tweet: "Supreme Court conservative justices say they're troubled by Obama's refusal to defend marriage law."

SCOTUSblog: 

Tweet: "#doma jurisdiction argument continues with no clear indication of whether a majority believes #scotus has the power to decide the case."

"Final update: #scotus 80% likely to strike down #doma. J Kennedy suggests it violates states’ rights; 4 other Justices see as gay rights."

Tweet: "J Kennedy asks two questions doubting #doma validity but nothing decisive and Chief Justice and Kagan have yet to speak."

WSJ Live blog:

"Conservative justices sharply questioned why the Justice Department is refusing to defend DOMA as unconstitutional but yet enforcing the law and placing the gay-marriage question before the Supreme Court. Justices also questioned whether the case belonged before the court at all."

"Chief Justice John Roberts told attrorney Sri Srinivasan, the principal deputy solicitor general, that the government's actions were "unprecedented." To agree with a lower court ruling finding DOMA unconstitutional but yet seeking the Supreme Court to weigh in while it enforces the law is "has never been done before," he said."

"Justice Anthony Kennedy cited the controversial and "questionable" practice of presidential signing statements as an example. He said if the president doesn't think a law is constitutional then he shouldn't sign it. And said the same principle perhaps applied in this case-- meaning if the president believes the law is unconstitutional, he shouldn't enforce it."

"Lawyer Paul Clement, representing the House, opened the main portion of the morning’s arguments that examined DOMA’s constitutionality. He faced several tough questions from the court’s liberal wing—and from moderate conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy—that asked why the federal government had the right to define marriage, given that the issue was one traditionally reserved for the states."

"Mr. Clement said the issue of gay marriage implicates profound and deeply held views, but he said the key legal question in the case was a narrow one: Does the federal government have the flexibility to define marriage?"

Beyoncé Posts Handwritten Note Supporting Marriage Equality: PHOTO

Beyoncé expressed her support for marriage equaiity with a handwritten note on Instagram: "If you like it you should be able to put a ring on it. #we will unite4marriageequality!"

DOMA Plaintiff Edie Windsor Arrives at the Supreme Court: PHOTO

Via the Courage Campaign comes this photo of Edie Windsor arriving at the Supreme Court today for arguments on her case challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Tweets the Courage Campaign: "We're seeing strong support outside today, but not as hectic as yesterday was."

Watch the activity outside the court LIVE now.

Make sure not to miss a Towleroad headline by following @TLRD on Twitter.

Things to Expect at Today's Supreme Court DOMA Arguments

Jacob Combs of Equality on Trial writes from the press room inside the Supreme Court this morning. He says it's not as busy as yesterday, less frenetic.

He  prepares us for what to expect:

Today’s hearing will be twice as long as yesterday’s, with the first fifty minutes devoted to questions of jurisdiction (whether the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the U.S. House of Representatives has standing to defend DOMA and whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear the Windsor case when Edie Windsor and the federal government both agree that DOMA is unconstitutional).  The second half of the arguments will consist of an hour of discussion of the case on the merits.

Yesterday’s hearing was very wonky and procedurally oriented: the Justices spent a significant amount of time talking about issues of standing, and even once we got to the merits, we stayed in the weeds of legalese.  What surprised me yesterday was that there was very little discussion of what level of scrutiny should be applied to laws that affect gays and lesbians: whether they should be viewed under the more deferential rational basis standard or the more searching heightened scrutiny standards.  Part of this issue has to do with whether or not gays and lesbians are a ‘suspect class’: one based upon an immutable characteristic that has suffered discrimination and the whims of majoritarian opinion.

The relative lack of scrutiny questions yesterday could well be due to the fact that the Court knows it will have to address scrutiny during today’s arguments.  In fact, the fate of DOMA may rest entirely on the level of scrutiny under which it is reviewed, since the federal government and BLAG both argue it can survive rational basis scrutiny.  (Windsor argues it must fail any level of scrutiny, the federal government believes it fails heightened scrutiny, and BLAG says the law can survive any level of scrutiny.)

Check out more from Jacob at Equality on Trial...

And if you missed our legal editor Ari Ezra Waldman's preview pieces on what to expect at the DOMA arguments, you can catch up with these:

Equal Protection in the DOMA and Prop 8 Cases [tlrd]
The question of 'standing' in the DOMA case [tlrd]
Supreme Court Preview: 'Scrutiny' in the DOMA and Prop 8 Cases [tlrd]

Make sure not to miss a Towleroad headline by following @TLRD on Twitter.

'Marriage Equality Now' Projected on the Supreme Court Last Night: PHOTO

Thought the Supreme Court went dark between yesterday's raucous Proposition 8 hearings and rallies, and today's consideration of the Defense of Marriage Act, what we're fighting for did not go forgotton.

Activist group GetEQUAL and the Backbone Campaign took care of that with this amazing projection.

LGBT Legal Eagles Jon Davidson and Jennifer Pizer Await DOMA Case Outside SCOTUS: PHOTO

Here's Lambda Legal Legal Director Jon Davidson and National Marriage Project Director Jennifer Pizer in line outside the Supreme Court this morning, awaiting entrance for the consideration of the Edie Windsor DOMA case.

Davidson reports on Twitter: "Smaller crowds today, but those present clearly are aware of how momentous the case being heard shortly is. Can the federal government disregard some couples' marriages? How should courts judge constitutionality of laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation? Weighty issues indeed...Waiting in line for hours gives me a whole new appreciation of the legal question of 'standing.'"

Said Pizer: "Pizer: No protesters yet. It's a lot calmer."