Chambers v. Ormiston
The Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled on December 7, 2007, that the state’s Family Court does not have jurisdiction to recognize a same-sex couple’s Massachusetts marriage for the purpose of granting them a divorce.
GLAD was an Amicus in this case.
Read GLAD’s statement on the decision
Amicus Briefs Filed with the Rhode Island Supreme Court on the Certified Question of Law from the Family Court (re: Chambers v. Ormiston): May the family court properly recognize, for the purpose of entertaining a divorce petition, a marriage of two persons of the same sex purportedly married in another state?
Briefs Filed in Support
- GLAD
- Marriage Equality Rhode Island
- ACLU
- Professors of Conflict of Laws and Family Law
- Margaret R. Chambers
- Cassandra B. Ormiston
- State of Rhode Island
- Thomas R. Bender
Briefs Filed in Oppostion
- Family Research Council
- Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
- Bishop Thomas J. Tobin
- Christopher F. Young
- National Legal Foundation
- United Families International, Family Watch International, and Family Leader Foundation
- Lynn D. Wardle, Law Professors, et al
- Governor Donald L. Carcieri*
*While the Governor’s brief argues that the Family Court does have jurisdiction in this case, it also takes a position against Rhode Island recognizing marriages of same-sex couples.
Response Briefs Filed in Support
Response Briefs Filed in Oppostion
- Family Research Council
- United Families International, Family Watch International, and Family Leader Foundation
Reply Briefs Filed in Support
Reply Briefs Filed in Oppostion