US: Appeals court combines and fast-tracks cases from Indiana and Wisconsin
The US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has combined and fast-tracked cases from Indiana and Wisconsin.
US District Judge Barbara Crabb struck down Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban on June 7, while Judge Richard Young declared the Indiana Defence of Marriage Act unconstitutional on June 25.
Marriages in both states were halted, after Wisconsin Attorney General JB Van Hollen and Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller had appealed.
The appeals court announced on Friday that it has combined the two cases, meaning it would hear both of them at once.
It also put the combined case on a fast track, aiming to take as little time as possible to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, Zoeller has requested that 10 judges hear the case at once, instead of the usual three “to more quickly resolve the uncertainty and chaos surrounding these cases.”.
He said: “This extraordinarily important legal issue deserves the review and consideration of the entire 7th Circuit Court of Appeals under the existing, expedited schedule for this case.
“En banc review would serve to provide the Supreme Court with the insights and judgment of ten well-respected judges, rather than just three, which would benefit the judicial review process no matter the outcome.”
Zoeller claims that the entire court hearing the case would speed up the process even more, though similar requests for ‘en banc’ rulings have been denied previously.
