SCOTUS Nears Decision On DC Marriage

According to the Supreme Court's public docket, the nine justices have scheduled a Friday meeting to discuss Jackson v. the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, Bishop Harry Jackson's lawsuit demanding that DC residents be allowed to vote on same-sex marriage. The Court is expected to announced on Monday if they will hear the case.

Lou Chibarro reports at the Washington Blade:

Jackson and his attorneys argue that the city did not have the authority to ban ballot measures that impact the Human Rights Act because only Congress could make such a change by amending the city’s Home Rule Charter. Gay rights attorneys have joined city attorneys in disputing that contention, claiming the city acted within the scope of the Home Rule charter in the 1970s when it put in place restrictions on certain ballot measures. City attorneys defended those restrictions in a brief submitted before the Supreme Court on Dec. 17. The attorneys, among other things, argued that the case involves a local matter pertaining to the city’s initiative and referendum law. They noted that the high court has a longstanding precedent of deferring to state or D.C. appeals courts on cases that don’t have a national impact. If the Supreme Court rejects Jackson’s request to take on the case, the D.C. Court of Appeals decision remains in force to permanently prevent a ballot measure on the same-sex marriage law.