Cultivated Compendium

The Mexican Supreme Court has upheld equal public benefits for same-sex couples, according to a report on BuzzFeed: The court "ruled Wednesday that the ministry overseesing pensions and health benefits — the Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social — must give same-sex couples who are married or registered under state civil union laws all the same benefits of opposite-sex couples. The ruling specifically addressed the question of whether someone whose spouse dies is entitled to survivor’s benefits under Mexico’s Social Security law, which includes pensions and access to medical services."

The litigation over same-sex marriage equality continues to burgeon in the United States. Most recently, a federal judge certified a class action to challenge Virginia's eight-year-old ban on same-sex marriage. The Associated Press reports that U.S. District Judge Michael F. Urbanski certified the class action Friday. The Virginia Attorney General already said he won't defend the ban in court. The class of couples could be around 15,000, according to the AP.

The New Yorker had a blog earlier this week that, while the Supreme Court decision striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act was meant to give breathing room to states to figure out the issue of same-sex nuptials themselves, "the language of the Windsor decision may have been so powerful that the Court in fact accelerated a movement it sought to temporarily restrain."  The blog also has this quote from Roberta Kaplan, the attorney who argued the Windsor case in the Supreme Court, explaining "how the ruling had led to results beyond what the court may have intended originally. 'It’s not the holding in Windsor that is so controlling right now. It’s the logic and reasoning behind the court’s decision—namely, that gay people deserve the same legal rights and protections as everyone else.”' 

Two courts rulings regarding same-sex marriage have been issued. A state judge ruled that the law authorizing same-sex marriage in Hawaii is constitutional, BigIslandNow.com reports. A federal judge has authorized a challenge to West Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage to go forward, The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington, WV, reports. The federal judge did strike down a claim involving out-of-state-marriages because "unmarried couples, with no stated desire to marry in another state, lack standing to challenge West Virginia's non-recognition of out-of-state marriages."

Delaware Business Court Insider's Jeff Mordock reported this week on Leo E. Strine Jr.'s confirmation as the chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. While Delaware is a preferred forum for America's corporations, one thing that struck me about Jeff's coverage is that Strine said he plans to focus on family court, which is an often overlooked area of law: "'One of the things I never forget is how important Family Court is. The Justice of the Peace Court comes into contact with more Delaware residents than any other court. The challenge of delivering the high-quality justice our court has done with limited resources is a daunting one and I'm committed to giving my all to do that. My background has positioned me well to understand the challenges of my colleagues in the other courts."'

Strine also defended the Court of Chancery's confidential arbitration program against the argument that it violates the First Amendment. Delaware is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch attempt to reinstate the program after the Third Circuit struck it down.

The New Jersey Law Journal reports on two issues of first impression the Third Circuit reached in a copyright case:

* one, courts don't have the power to cancel copyright registrations; 

* two,  the three-year statute of limiations for copyright infringement claims do not start to run for alleged joint authors of copyrighted works "until a claimant is alerted to the potential violation of his or rights through a co-author's express repudiation."
 

A federal judge has certified a class action over the treatment of American Indian children in South Dakota's foster care system, the Associated Press reports: "It alleges the state is violating the Indian Child Welfare Act by holding improper hearings after children are removed from homes. It says the hearings are sometimes as short as 60 seconds and do not give parents the opportunity to introduce evidence showing their ability to care for the child or to question the state."

A federal judge has certified a class action over the treatment of American Indian children in South Dakota's foster care system, the Associated Press reports: "It alleges the state is violating the Indian Child Welfare Act by holding improper hearings after children are removed from homes. It says the hearings are sometimes as short as 60 seconds and do not give parents the opportunity to introduce evidence showing their ability to care for the child or to question the state."

The Lawrence Journal-World reports to repeal Kansas' ban on same-sex marriage have been accepted by a legislative committee. Kansas also is considering a bill to "provide legal protection to people who, because of religious opposition to gay marriage, would deny business and services to same-sex couples," the newspaper reports.

The Indiana House approved putting a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage before voters, The Guardian reports. Now the measure has to be considered in the Senate. However, the proposed amendment was modified to remove language that would have banned civil unions and same-sex couples receiving benefits from their employers. Senators are expected to try to restore the language, The Guardian further reports.