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Constitutional Law Keyed to Feldman
United States v. Windsor
Citation:
570 U.S. 744 (2013)Facts
In 1996, before any State had acted to permit the same sex marriage, Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defined marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. The respondents, Windsor and Spyer met in New York City and began a relationship. They registered as domestic partners when NYC gave that right to same-sex couples in 1993. When Spyer died and left her estate to Windsor, Windsor did not qualify for the marital exemption from the federal estate tax because DOMA denied federal recognition to same-sex spouses. Windsor sued.
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