In a diplomatically minded, share-the-spotlight move, attorneys challenging four states’ bans on same-sex marriage have proposed dividing up the oral argument time at the Supreme Court.
Representing plaintiffs from the Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee marriage lawsuits, attorneys asked the court in a letter Tuesday to split the time equally.
“Permitting divided argument will ensure that the Court has the benefit of a full and thorough presentation of all of the issues in these cases, including any questions the Court may have regarding the records developed in the individual cases,” the attorneys wrote.
The court previously allocated 45 minutes each to petitioners and respondents to the question of whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex. The court also allocated 30 minutes each to the question of whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to recognize a same-sex marriage performed elsewhere.
The attorneys propose dividing up the argument into four sessions of 15 minutes each, plus 15 minutes for the solicitor general to represent the Obama administration.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights and private attorneys declared in a statement that they had “an incredible wealth of talent available to argue” the cases.
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