Dana Nessel, the principal lawyer in the Michigan case that was part of the U.S. Supreme Court decision holding unconstitutional the ban against same-sex marriage, spoke Monday, Nov. 16, at Wayne State University Law School.
Nessel, Wayne Law Class of 1994, discussed the arguments, strategy and outcome of DeBoer v. Snyder.
Nessel — with co-counsel Wayne Law Adjunct Professor Kenneth Mogill, Wayne Law Distinguished Professor Robert Sedler and attorney Carole Stanyar — originally filed the suit in federal district court on behalf of lesbian couple April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse of Hazel Park, challenging Michigan’s ban on adoption by same-sex couples. The suit was amended to challenge the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
The case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was part of the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, giving same-sex couples the same right to legally wed as opposite-sex couples.
Nessel, along with her co-counsel on DeBoer, was honored with the “Champion of Justice” award by the Michigan State Bar Association.
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