Court Won't Challenge
Civil Union Ruling
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, June 17, 2005
DES MOINES, Iowa -- The state
Supreme Court refused Friday to tamper with a lower-court decision that
dissolved the civil union of two women, saying the conservatives who sued were
not harmed and had no standing in the case.
The high court noted that it was not judging the merits of the claims by the
legal arm of the Des Moines-based Iowa Family Policy Center, a church and a
handful of state legislators.
''Rather, our task is to determine whether these plaintiffs are the proper
parties to bring this action,'' the court wrote.
Their lawsuit challenged a ruling by Judge Jeffrey Neary that let Kimberly Jean
Brown end her civil union with Jennifer Sue Perez. The two were joined in
March 2002 in Bolton, Vt., according to Brown's divorce petition. Neary
granted a divorce, later altering the ruling to say it terminated a civil union.
The plaintiffs argued that the judge had overstepped his authority by
recognizing gay marriage, but the Supreme Court disagreed.
''We fail to see how the district court's action in dissolving a civil union of
another couple harmed in any specific way these plaintiffs' marriages and for
this reason, they have shown no legally recognized interest or personal stake in
the underlying action,'' the high court said.
The court also rejected an argument by Matthew Wentz, pastor of the Church of
Christ in Le Mars, that the decision threatened his ability as a minister to
solemnize marriages.
Messages left Friday for officials with the Iowa Family Policy Center and three
state lawmakers who were plaintiffs in the case were not immediately returned.
The judge, who won a retention vote last fall, declined to comment on Friday's
ruling.
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