Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
Overview
Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, 798 N.E.2d 941
(Mass.
2003), was a landmark
state appellate court
case dealing with same-sex marriage in Massachusetts
. The November 18, 2003, decision was the first by a U.S. state's highest court to say that same-sex couples had the right to marry.
On April 11, 2001, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders
(GLAD) sued the Massachusetts Department of Health in Superior Court on behalf of seven same-sex couples, all residents of Massachusetts, who had been denied marriage licenses in March and April 2001.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(Mass.
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The SJC has the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Western Hemisphere.-History:...
2003), was a landmark
Precedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
state appellate court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
case dealing with same-sex marriage in Massachusetts
Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts
Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Massachusetts began on May 17, 2004, as a result of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that it was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts constitution to allow only heterosexual couples to marry...
. The November 18, 2003, decision was the first by a U.S. state's highest court to say that same-sex couples had the right to marry.
On April 11, 2001, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is a non-profit legal rights organization in the United States. The organization was founded in 1978, and works toward ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression.GLAD is based in Boston, Massachusetts, and...
(GLAD) sued the Massachusetts Department of Health in Superior Court on behalf of seven same-sex couples, all residents of Massachusetts, who had been denied marriage licenses in March and April 2001.
