Trachtman Quoted in NYLJ on Upcoming Court of Appeals Arguments on Marriage Rights for Same-Sex Couples

Litigation partner Jeffrey S. Trachtman was quoted in a New York Law Journal article about the upcoming oral argument in the New York State Court of Appeals of two cases affecting the marriage rights of same-sex couples in New York State. Arguments will be heard October 13 in Godfrey v. Spano and Lewis v. New York State Department of Civil Service, two cases in which Appellate Division panels affirmed decisions upholding the determinations of government officials to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples who were validly married in states outside of New York. Trachtman, who is serving as co-counsel to Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in representing married couples who intervened in both cases, discussed Kramer Levin's longstanding role as co-counsel with Lambda Legal in several marriage recognition cases as well as Hernandez v. Robles, an earlier case that had sought Constitutional recognition of marriage rights for same-sex couples. He noted that the defeat in Hernandez was typical of the "fits and starts" in any civil rights movement and helped bring attention to the issue, and that a Court of Appeals decision affirming the recognition of out-of-state marriages might help move the State Legislature towards approval of equal marriage rights.