In a historic ruling that received broad media coverage (New York Times, CNN, CBS Evening News, just to name a few), the Iowa Supreme Court ruled last Friday that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry in Iowa. Dorsey partnered with Lambda Legal to file the case in 2005 on behalf of six same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in Iowa, and three of their children. Summary judgment was entered for the couples and the case was fast tracked for appeal.
The court’s 69-page opinion was unanimous, marking the first unanimous decision of an appellate court considering the issue of marriage equality. Justice Mark Cady wrote: “We are firmly convinced that the exclusion of gay/lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The Legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification.”
The Polk County Recorder, the defendant, will not seek rehearing and an appeal to the United States Supreme Court is foreclosed. Further, leaders in the Iowa Legislature will not introduce a constitutional amendment this session that might supersede the court’s opinion. On April 24, 2009, Iowa will join Massachusetts and Connecticut as the only three states to issue marriage licenses regardless of the applicants' sex. Dennis Johnson led a team of Amy Bjork, Karen Boelling, Heather Campbell, Steve Carlson, Angela Dralle, William Goetz, Matthew Kipp, Cris Kuhn, Brian Laurenzo, Bricker Lavik, Janette Lawrence, Oliver McKinstry, Bill Miller, and Jennifer Reed.
For Dennis, the case will always be memorable: “The part of the case that I will never forget was the visible impact it had on people. There were rallies around the state afterwards. My clients reacted with tears of joy, laughter, and hugs. They had their children with them, which really brought home the fact that these were families whose lives would be forever changed because of the Supreme Court's decision. And throughout the day on Friday, I was approached by people, frequently same-sex couples, with tears in their eyes, thanking me from the bottom of their hearts. After more than 30 years of impersonal, hard hitting commercial litigation, I never expected and was not prepared for this type of reaction Truly a remarkable experience.”