No. _________
I
N
T
HE
Supreme Court of the United States
EDITH SCHLAIN WINDSOR, in her capacity as Executor of the estate of THEA CLARA SPYER,
Petitioner,
v. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Respondent,
and THE BIPARTISAN LEGAL ADVISORY GROUP OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Respondent.
On Petition For Writ Of Certiorari Before Judgment To The United States Court Of ppeals For The Second Circuit PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIOR RI BEFORE JUDGMENT
R
OBERTA
A.
K
APLAN
Counsel of Record
A
NDREW
J.
E
HRLICH
J
AREN
J
ANGHORBANI
P
AUL
,
W
EISS
,
R
IFKIND
,
W
HARTON
&
G
ARRISON
LLP 1285 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019-6064 (212) 373-3000 rkaplan@paulweiss.com S
TEVEN
R.
S
HAPIRO
J
AMES
D.
E
SSEKS
R
OSE
A.
S
AXE
A
MERICAN
C
IVIL
L
IBERTIES
U
NION
F
OUNDATION
125 Broad Street New York, NY 10004 P
AMELA
S.
K
ARLAN
J
EFFREY
L.
F
ISHER
S
TANFORD
L
AW
S
CHOOL
S
UPREME
C
OURT
L
ITIGATION
C
LINIC
559
Nathan Abbott Way Stanford, CA 94305 A
RTHUR
E
ISENBERG
M
ELISSA
G
OODMAN
M
ARIKO
H
IROSE
N
EW
Y
ORK
C
IVIL
L
IBERTIES
U
NION
F
OUNDATION
125 Broad Street New York, NY 10004
i
QUESTION PRESENTED
Does Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, 1 U.S.C. § 7, which defines the term “marriage” for all purposes under federal law as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife,” deprive same-sex couples who are lawfully married under the laws of their states (such as New York) of the equal protection of the laws, as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States?
ii
PARTIES TO THE PROCEEDING
The petitioner is Edith Schlain Windsor, in her capacity as the executor of the estate of her late spouse, Thea Clara Spyer. Ms. Windsor was the plaintiff in the District Court and is the appellee in the Court of Appeals. The United States of America was the defendant in the District Court and is an appellant in the Court of Appeals. The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives (“BLAG”) was the intervenor-defendant in the District Court and is the intervenor-appellant in the Court of Appeals.