I am proud to have been an ‘amici’ on behalf of the state laws and the overwhelming percentage of the people who voted in favor of ‘traditional’ marriage.
Houston, TX (PRWEB) November 20, 2014
Houston attorney J. Mark Brewer today announced he recently advised a federal appeals court which upheld a same-sex marriage bans in four states, a ruling that marked a rare defeat for supporters of gay marriage.
Brewer, principal and co-founder of Brewer & Pritchard, P.C., was an amici curiae, which is a legal term for someone who is not part of a court case but who gives information that may be used by the court in making its decision.
“I am proud to have been an ‘amici’ on behalf of the state laws and the overwhelming percentage of the people who voted in favor of ‘traditional’ marriage,” Brewer said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in a 2-1 ruling, reversed district court rulings that had struck down same-sex marriage bans in four states: Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to a Nov. 6 USA Today news story (“Gay marriage bans in four states upheld, Supreme Court review likely”).
According to the news report, the Supreme Court almost certainly will review the issue. The highest court in the United States likely will examine the 6th Circuit Court ruling as well as other appellate rulings that had found gay marriage bans to be unconstitutional.
According to the 42-page decision, Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton cited a 1972 Supreme Court decision, Baker v. Nelson, that restricts lower federal courts. That decision upholds “the right of the people of a State to define marriage as they see it.”
Sutton wrote in his decision to overturn the lower court ruling: “When the courts do not let the people resolve new social issues like this one, they perpetuate the idea that the heroes in these change events are judges and lawyers. Better in this instance, we think, to allow change through customary political processes, in which the people, gay and straight alike, become the heroes of their own stories by meeting each other not as adversaries in a court system but as fellow citizens seeking to resolve a new social issue in a fair-minded way.”
About Brewer & Pritchard, P.C.
J. Mark Brewer, managing director at Brewer & Pritchard, P.C., since its founding in 1991, manages an office of 20 professionals. Attorney Brewer has 30 years of experience in complex business, tort and commercial litigation, large contract negotiations and arbitration, and other forms of dispute resolution. He has won numerous multi-million-dollar jury verdicts.
Serving clients throughout Texas and across the country, the attorneys at Brewer & Pritchard, P.C. have a well-earned reputation for being knowledgeable, experienced lawyers focused on results. The Houston law firm handles a wide variety of cases, including Medicaid fraud, whistleblower claims, business law, corporate law, mergers, acquisitions and other legal issues. Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
For more information or if you need legal assistance, call 713-209-2950 or complete the online contact form.
Brewer & Pritchard, P.C.
3 Riverway #1800
Houston, TX 77056
713-209-2950
http://www.bplaw.com