Elizabeth F. Schwartz is proud to be one of the attorneys that represented the plaintiffs in the Miami-Dade case, Pareto v. Ruvin, where the Judge ruled in favor of ending the discriminatory policy that denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Miami-Dade County:
"... this Court finds that Florida’s statutory and constitutional restrictions on same-sex marriage violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the United States Constitution. They improperly infringe upon the Plaintiffs’ ability to exercise their fundamental right to marry the person of their choice, and upon their liberty interests regarding personal autonomy, family integrity, association, and dignity. They also unlawfully discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation." - Judge Sarah Zabel, 11th Circuit (Download the Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment, issued 7/25/14)
However, our case was appealed by the State of Florida, and Judge Zabel had issued a stay on her decision while the appeals process continues. On January 5th, 2015, Judge Zabel lifted her stay, enabling the plaintiffs and other residents of Miami-Dade County to begin applying for marriage certificates shortly thereafter. Once the plaintiffs had obtained their marriage licenses, Judge Zabel personally married two of the plaintiff couples, Catherina Pareto & Karla Arguello, and Todd Delmay and Jeffrey Delmay.
CATHERINA PARETO and KARLA ARGUELLO; JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ and DAVID PRICE; VANESSA ALENIER and MELANIE ALENIER; TODD DELMAY and JEFFREY DELMAY; SUMMER GREENE and PAMELA FAERBER; DON PRICE JOHNSTON and JORGE DIAZ; and EQUALITY FLORIDA INSTITUTE, INC., Plaintiffs,
v.
HARVEY RUVIN, as Clerk of the Courts of Miami-Dade County, Florida, in his official capacity, Defendant.
On January 21, 2014, six same-sex couples and the Equality Florida Institute filed a lawsuit in Florida state court in Miami seeking the freedom to marry. The lawsuit argues that Florida’s laws barring same-sex couples from marriage violate the United States Constitution by denying them the legal protections and equal dignity that having the freedom to marry provides. Elizabeth F. Schwartz is proud to be co-counsel on this case, along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the law firm Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, and attorney Mary B. Meeks.
On Wednesday, June 26th, 2013, the US Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act and restored marriage equality to the State of California. Read the official majority opinions issued in each case:
