Underscoring its long-standing support for marriage
equality, the Boston Bar Association has announced its role as a signatory in
amicus briefs in two cases now before the Supreme Court of the United States:
United
States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth
v. Perry. In both
instances the BBA has joined a coalition of bar associations and civil and human
rights groups, and public interest and legal services
organizations.
While dozens of amicus briefs have been filed
in both cases, each offers its own perspective. In the case of the BBA, the
briefs it signed urge the Court to "hold that sexual orientation classifications
are subject to heightened scrutiny."
In both briefs, the amici urge the
Court to presume the "unequal treatment is based on deep-seated prejudice or
baseless stereotypes and requires a more searching review of the actual grounds
for the discrimination to prevent governments from justifying it with post hoc
rationales."
The briefs were drafted on behalf of the coalition by
Jonathan S. Franklin of Fulbright & Jaworski's office in Washington, D.C.
The Boston Bar Association's support for marriage equality dates back to
2002 when it filed an amicus brief in Goodridge, the Massachusetts case
which resulted in the MA Supreme Judicial Court overturning the prohibition
against same sex marriage in the Bay State.