U.S. Pending Cases before the Supreme Court "United States v. Windsor"

U.S. Pending Cases before the Supreme Court "United States v. Windsor"

Introduction

A confrontation to federal law, DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) labels marriage as a union between a male and a female (Beers, 2012). Therefore, this law refutes federal assistance to same-sex couples who are lawfully and officially married in the states where they are resided. DOMA does not attend to whether there is a basic right under the law or the Constitution to same-sex marriage (Beers, 2012). In this regard, "United States v. Windsor," is a case filed by Edie Windsor, an eighty-three year-old New Yorkan woman who got married Thea Clara Spyer in the year 2007 after a companionship of around forty years as a couple. When Thea Clara Spyer passed away in 2009, Windsor was refuted under DOMA, immunity on taxes of federal estate that she had shelled out on the estate of her spouse. Thus, this proceeding confronts the constitutionality of DOMA (Beers, 2012). It is a federal law that classifies marriage for the entire federal principles as an officially permitted unification between a male and female as husband and wife.

Case Details

The case is filed by Plaintiff Edith Windsor who shared forty-four years with Thea Clara Spyer, her late partner, Thea Clara Spyer (Sen, 2012). Windsor filed the court case in opposition to the federal government on 9th November, 2010 for rejecting to recognize or accept their marriage. Spyer and Windsor got married in the year 2007 in Canada. The couple was considered wedded by New York which was their home state. However, Spyer passed away in 2009 (Sen, 2012). The s inequitable policies of DOMA did not let Windsor claim the marital deduction estate tax that is on hand when the surviving partner belongs to the opposed sex.

The court case in quest to make DOMA affirmed unconstitutional and to get hold of a repayment of the federal tax of estate that Plaintiff Edith Windsor was obligated to pay after the death of her spouse. The court proceeding was entered with the help and support of the NYCLU, ACLU and the corporation of Law of Rifkind, Weiss, Paul, Wharton & Garrison (Sen, 2012).

As a matter of fact, Windsor was the one and only beneficiary of the property of Spyer. Since they were wedded, the estate belonging to Spyer would normally have approved to her partner devoid of any tax. However for the reason that DOMA rejected to acknowledge otherwise legitimate marriages of couples having same gender, Spyer's property or assets had to shell out $363,053 in the taxes of thr federal estate. Previously this year, Plaintiff Edith Windsor applied for a complete reimbursement from the government. However, that claim was rejected by then IRS, citing DOMA. The court case falls out that DOMA breached the equal defense assurance of the United States Constitution (Sen, 2012) since it only acknowledges the marriages only heterosexual partners and not of the same sex partners, in spite of the fact that all ...