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Ohio Judges, Attorneys Discuss Next Steps for Marriage Equality
By: Stephanie Beougher
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What are the effects in Ohio of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that ruled state laws against same-sex marriages are unconstitutional?
A panel of four lawyers and judges today attempted to address that question in an hour-long webcast, “The Supreme Court Speaks: The Next Steps for Marriage Equality,” sponsored by the Ohio State Bar Association.
Among the specific issues the panel discussed was the current gender-specific language on probate and juvenile court forms. Pickaway County Juvenile and Probate Court Judge Jan Michael Long, who is president of the Ohio Association of Probate Judges, said the association provided some best practices to its members and will soon convene a committee to suggest changes to probate forms to conform to the new ruling.
Delaware County Juvenile and Probate Court Judge David A. Hejmanowski said a “vast number” of forms are already gender-neutral, and those that are not will need to be changed.
Attorney Jennifer Branch of Gerhardstein & Branch, the Cincinnati law firm that represented the plaintiff in Obergefell, urged judges not to wait until the forms are formally changed. An example of that were alternations to marriage licenses issued shortly after the June 26 Supreme Court decision that deleted references to “husband” and “wife.”
For Franklin County Common Pleas Court Domestic Relations Judge Dana S. Preisse, the impact for domestic relations courts will be if same-sex couples file for divorce. Judge Preisse and the other panelists talked about several scenarios that could present complications when deciding custody and parental rights, such as children adopted before the June 26 ruling. While the panel didn’t come to any type of resolution for the scenarios, it was suggested Ohio look at how other states handled similar situations. Additionally, it was pointed out that some issues may need to be addressed by the Ohio General Assembly.
Judge Long said if attorneys have questions about a case involving same-sex couples, they should contact their local court to ask how the court prefers to proceed. Branch’s advice to attorneys was to handle all issues as if they involved opposite-sex clients.