Brandeis strongly connected to U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming same-sex marriage case

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments sometime in April on the Sixth Circuit’s decision in the fall to uphold bans on same-sex marriage in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. The decision abruptly halted a swift wave of momentum favoring same-sex marriage — in the past year alone, state statutes or amendments banning same-sex marriage rights have been overturned in 28 other states.

SCOTUS will hear from plaintiffs challenging these bans in each of the four states. Kentucky’s case was brought by two sets of plaintiffs; one group that included couples who married in other states and are seeking recognition in the Commonwealth, and the other group of couples who are seeking the right to marry in the state.

All of the attorneys who have represented the plaintiffs from the beginning are graduates of the Brandeis School of Law. They include Laura Landenwich, Daniel Canon and L. Joe Dunman, from Clay Daniel Walton & Adams, and Dawn Elliott and Shannon Fauver, from the Fauver Law Office.

To underscore the significance of such a rare opportunity for these alums, the Supreme Court’s website claims that Justices grant review on about 100 of the more than 10,000 petitions filed with the court each term.

"Most lawyers don’t get this opportunity and it’s not something I ever would have believed was possible," Landenwich said. "We all view this as the major civil rights case of our era. It’s hard to imagine another case in our lifetime that will have such a big impact nationally on the development of the law, Constitutional law and our understanding of who deserves protection."

Landenwich said the legal team purposefully worked around the clock to get the petition filed in time (they had one week) to put it in front of the current court.

"Everyone had the opinion that the Supreme Court may not look the same the next term. The uncertainty if we waited was too great and would affect too many people," she said. "It was intense. It still is."

Landenwich credits her moot court training at Brandeis — and Professor Sam Marcosson’s coaching — for helping her prepare for some of that intensity. She also said the Louisville legal community in general has rallied around the team.

"There is a lot of support from the law school and the Louisville Bar. There is a definite comradery. The university has played a central role in providing support and knowing that your peers are behind you has helped motivate us through the process," Landenwich said.

In addition to boasting alumni who will be facing the bench in this landmark civil rights case, Brandeis is also connected via its current students and faculty as well.

"The law school’s involvement in this case embodies the best qualities of our law school in the ‘how’ the people are involved," said Professor Jamie Abrams, who was part of a team of 56 family law professors who signed and submitted an amicus curiae brief in the Sixth Circuit cases. Abrams worked with a team of Brandeis students to research the underlying Kentucky law. Those students worked for public service hours.

The plaintiff’s legal team is also being supported by students working for pay, student legal scholars, faculty scholars (Professors Sam Marcosson, David Herzig) and more. Additionally, Herzig’s article, "A Taxing Decision: The Supreme Court will rule in favor of gay marriage for the most practical of reasons," was published by Slate.

"All law schools have faculty who can publish, teach and serve. What we do uniquely is integrate all of them," Abrams said. "To me, the work on this case embodies everything that we value at Brandeis in terms of how to be a student and a professor and a graduate.  It’s not necessarily what we’re doing but how we’re doing it: we’re getting students involved and engaged and we’re supporting our alumni."

Since the fall decision, Marcosson has also put together moot courts to prep Landenwich — a throwback to her time as a student — and the others.

"I can’t overstate how much the moot courts and Sam have prepared me for this. It was the most valuable experience I got at law school," Landenwich said.

Landenwich adds that she is optimistic about the case and said the nation is ready for same-sex marriage. Marcosson’s optimism comes from his personal experience with the legal team.

"I am confident in all of them that they’ll do a brilliant job," he said. "This just shows that you don’t have to go to the biggest schools to have an opportunity to make a difference on the biggest issues on the biggest stage."