On Wednesday the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in six marriage equality cases spanning the states of Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky.
The Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog provides a quick overview of the decisions that are under appeal in five of those cases. In more detail, FreedomToMarry.org lists (down the right column of this page) each of the six cases as well as links to PDF files of the original rulings as well as profiles of the plaintiffs.
Each of the cases are a bit different, with the Michigan case being the only one that explicitly regards the right for same-sex couples to marry. According to the Washington Blade:
The Sixth Circuit has the distinction of being the only federal appellate court in history where each of the four states within the circuit have marriage cases on appeal.
The only case among the four that is outright seeking the right for same-sex couples to marry is the Michigan case, DeBoer v. Snyder.
The Tennessee case, Tanco v. Haslam, was filed by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and seeks state recognition for same-sex couples married elsewhere. So is the Kentucky case, Bourke v. Beshear, although that case was amended at the district court to seek outright marriage equality.
One Ohio case, Obergefell v. Himes, is seeking the same-sex marriage recognition rights for the purposes of death certificates, the other, Henry v. Himes, is related to birth certificates, but in that case the district judge ruled against the state’s marriage ban for all purposes of recognition.
One of the judges on the appeals panel is Martha Craig Daughtrey who is from Nashville and is a graduate of Vanderbilt. A senior judge appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993, she is considered liberal, though the Cleveland Plain Dealer warns prognosticators to be wary of assumptions going into these cases with these judges. The Louisville Courier-Journal agrees that though the panel may seem conservative each has ruled on topics involving gay rights.
Oral arguments begin at 1pm EST at the Potter Stewart Courthouse in Cincinnati on Wednesday August 6.
graphic compiled via dailykos & equalityontrial