Cheating Marriage: A Tragedy in Three Acts

64 Pages Posted: 20 Aug 2015 Last revised: 21 Aug 2015

See all articles by John C. Eastman

John C. Eastman

Claremont Institute Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence

Date Written: 2015

Abstract

In his dissenting opinion in United States v. Windsor, Justice Scalia accused the Court of “cheating,” because it decided an issue that properly belonged to the voters. But the cheating that went on in the case, and the parallel case involving Proposition 8 in California, was also of the vintage variety. This article tells the largely untold story about the many machinations by elected officials and judges to produce the end result in favor of same-sex marriage, from conflicts of interest, to collusion by nominally “opposing” counsel, and finally to an aggressive refusal by high-ranking government lawyers (including one who would then cast the deciding vote in the case) to defend laws for which there were perfectly reasonable defenses well-rooted in then-existing precedent.

Keywords: Courts, Same-Sex Marriage, Legal Ethics

Suggested Citation

Eastman, John C., Cheating Marriage: A Tragedy in Three Acts (2015). Ave Maria Law Review, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2015, Chapman University, Fowler Law Research Paper No. 15-10, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2646805

John C. Eastman (Contact Author)

Claremont Institute Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence

1317 W. Foothill Blvd., Suite 120
Upland, CA 91786
United States
877-855-3330 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.claremont.org/center-for-constitutional-jurisprudence/

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
395
Abstract Views
2,930
Rank
154,792
PlumX Metrics