The Fourth Circuit became the second federal appellate court to consider a decision to strike down a ban on same-sex marriage, Law.com's Marcia Coyle reports: "Judging by comments made by the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit hearing Virginia’s case, the fate of the state’s ban, one of the most restrictive in the country, could hang on the vote of one judge."
Some of the plaintiffs are represented by the same legal team that successfully challenged California's ban on same-sex marriage but did not get a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on whether states can limit marriage to unions between men and women, Coyle writes.
When the judges on the 10th Circuit heard an appeal of Utah's ban on same-sex marriage being struck down, they also appeared divided.
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