Boehner-Led Group Will Defend DOMA in Court

[jackoroe]

While I'm glad that DOMA is going by the boards, I'm not real happy with the route Obama's taking to get there. The Attorney General simply issuing his opinion that a law is unconstitutional and not defending it can be a dangerous precedent. Let's look a bit further than the end of our noses. What happens when a republican AG unilaterally does something like this 5 or 10 years from now on an issue we think important?

I'm sure there was also a political calculation in this decision as well. Obama gets to look like a swell guy and Boehner and Pelosi will carry the water on DOMA for him. Boehner was smart enough to make sure the decision will include the democrats as well.

I think it ultimately fails in SCOTUS because of the laws lack or merit, no matter who tries to defend (or defriend) it.

 

[Kulindahr]

While I'm glad that DOMA is going by the boards, I'm not real happy with the route Obama's taking to get there. The Attorney General simply issuing his opinion that a law is unconstitutional and not defending it can be a dangerous precedent. Let's look a bit further than the end of our noses. What happens when a republican AG unilaterally does something like this 5 or 10 years from now on an issue we think important?

I'm sure there was also a political calculation in this decision as well. Obama gets to look like a swell guy and Boehner and Pelosi will carry the water on DOMA for him. Boehner was smart enough to make sure the decision will include the democrats as well.

I think it ultimately fails in SCOTUS because of the laws lack or merit, no matter who tries to defend (or defriend) it.

Actually Boehner didn't have to be smart -- the composition of a 'legal advisory committee' is defined by rules.

 

[BostonPirate]

Hastert was every bit as bad.


What precedent?

There's already a precedent for an Attorney General, via order of the president, opting not to defend a law they believe to be unconstitutional.

This has been reiterated numerous times.

true enough... its unusual, but there are more than a few cases

history shows that this "long-standing practice" is not always followed. Federal law requires the Justice Department to notify Congress when it decides not to defend a statute, and the list, while not lengthy, is significant -- 13 notifications since 2004.

For example, then-acting Solicitor General Paul Clement in 2004 told Congress "the government does not have a viable argument to advance" in defense of a federal law that barred mass-transit agencies receiving federal funds from allowing ads on buses and subways promoting the use of medical marijuana. The reason: The law amounted to viewpoint discrimination, which the U.S. Supreme Court was unlikely to permit.

Sometimes the reason is strategic. In 2008, the Justice Department reported it was not appealing a district judge's finding that certain provisions of the federal child pornography law were unconstitutional in the case of an Iowa man. The judge had allowed the rest of the prosecution to proceed, however, and the government decided that an appeal defending the rejected parts of the law would delay the trial too long. The letter promised that the department would defend the law in other cases.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202473959808&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1

The standard seems to be to defend unless there are VERY good reasons. The congress then has the right to defend a law it wrote if the president does not.

Thats whats happening. The system is functioning normally.

I have done some digging through various articles and it seems that both bushes, reagan, and clinton's DoJ chose on the rare occasion not to defend legislation. Its unusual, but not abnormal.

 

[bike10]

The typical GOP avoid the real issues like JOBS.

 

[Kulindahr]

Bringing this up from the shadows....

I got an email worth reading:

Human Rights Campaign

Dear Xxxxxxxxx,

Republican House leaders are desperate to keep DOMA alive.

But with two repeal bills in Congress, we have a chance to end DOMA for good.

You are critical to winning this fight.

Join HRC with an emergency gift to help us fight for DOMA repeal.

Join

This is how Congress is spending its time.

Right now, behind closed doors, Republican House leaders are deciding exactly how they'll use our tax dollars to protect the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

And more than 90 right-wing lawmakers are wasting Congress's time on a resolution condemning President Obama and declaring that same-sex couples should be denied equal rights. Some are even talking about impeaching the president for his principled stance against DOMA.

Meanwhile, as right-wing groups vilify gay members of Congress, we're showing every lawmaker that a majority of Americans – both straight and LGBT – want DOMA repealed.

We need 535 more allies to join HRC in the next 24 hours so that we have the resources to get our message to all 535 members of Congress. Can you help fund this fight?

Join HRC in the next 24 hours with an urgent gift to fight DOMA and stand up for equality.

DOMA's sole purpose is to deny married, same-sex couples the protections straight married couples enjoy: Social Security survivor benefits, joint tax filing, taking leave to care for a spouse, and more.

In the past few weeks, we've sent more than 170,000 letters to Congress calling out this discrimination. We've also released a new poll showing that a majority of Americans have no patience for these antics.1 They want Congress to focus on creating jobs – not defending DOMA.

We refuse to be quiet. We're standing up to right-wing ideologues, rallying support and fighting for DOMA repeal bills in the House and Senate. We're continuously highlighting the scary truth about DOMA in the press. And we're making sure your voice is heard in Congress on this issue.

This is not a test – equality for loving couples and families is on the line.

Stand up to hate – chip in now.

I know you're disgusted by our opponents' hypocrisy and that you're eager for progress. From the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. hate crimes law to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal, we've shown we can get things done together. I'm hoping you'll stand with us today.

Keep up the fight,

Joe Solmonese
President


1 A new poll from HRC and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research shows 51 percent of Americans oppose DOMA while 34 percent favor it. 54 percent of Americans want Congress to focus on jobs and only 32 percent would prefer Congress spend time defending DOMA.

Join