# Lewis v. Harris

Lewis v. Harris, 188 N.J. 415; 908 A.2d 196 (N.J. 2006), is a New Jersey Supreme Court case that held that same-sex couples are entitled to the same equal protection as heterosexual couples under the state constitution.
* Court Documents
* Opinion of the Court
* Concurrence/Dissent Poritz
* Wikipedia article
SUPREME COURT OF NEW JERSEY
MARK LEWIS and DENNIS WINSLOW; SAUNDRA HEATH and CLARITA ALICIA TOBY; CRAIG HUTCHISON and CHRIS LODEWYKS; MAUREEN KILIAN and CINDY MENEGHIN; SARAH and SUYIN LAEL; MARILYN MANEELY and DIANE MARINI; and KAREN and MARCYE NICHOLSON-MCFADDEN, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. GWENDOLYN L. HARRIS, in her official capacity as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services; CLIFTON R. LACY, in his official capacity as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services; and JOSEPH KOMOSINSKI, in his official capacity as Acting State Registrar of Vital Statistics of the New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services, Defendants-Respondents.
On appeal from the Superior Court, Appellate Division, whose opinions are reported at 378 N.J. Super. 168 (2005).
No. A-68 September Term 2005 Argued: February 15, 2006 --- Decided: October 25, 2006
David S. Buckel, a member of the New York bar, argued the cause for appellants (Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione, attorneys; Mr. Buckel, Susan L. Sommer, a member of the New York bar, Lawrence S. Lustberg and Megan Lewis, on the briefs).
Patrick DeAlmeida, Assistant Attorney General argued the cause for respondents (Anne Milgram, Acting Attorney General of New Jersey, attorney; Mr. DeAlmeida and Mary Beth Wood, on the briefs).
David R. Oakley submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae Alliance for Marriage, Inc. (Anderl & Oakley, attorneys).
Edward L. Barocas, Legal Director, submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, and The National Organization for Women of New Jersey.
Howard M. Nashel submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae American Psychological Association and New Jersey Psychological Association (Nashel, Kates, Nussman, Rapone & Ellis, attorneys).
Franklyn C. Steinberg, III, submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae The Anscombe Society at Princeton University.
Douglas S. Eakeley submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae City of Asbury Park (Lowenstein Sandler, attorneys).
Kevin H. Marino and John A. Boyle submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae Asian Equality, Equality Federation, People for the American Way Foundation and Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force (Marino & Associates, attorneys; Paul A. Saso, of counsel).
Mark L. Hopkins submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae Clergy of New Jersey.
Richard F. Collier, Jr., submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae Family Leader Foundation (Collier & Basil, attorneys).
Dennis M. Caufield submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae Family Research Council.
Leslie A. Farber and Thomas H. Prol submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae Garden State Equality Education Fund, Inc. and Garden State Equality, LLC, a Continuing Political Committee (Leslie A. Farber, attorneys; Mr. Prol, of counsel).
Alan E. Kraus submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE), Family Pride Coalition, Freedom to Marry, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, New Jersey Lesbian and Gay Coalition (NJLGC), and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) (Latham & Watkins, attorneys).
Kevin Costello submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae Legal Momentum (Levow & Costello, attorneys).
Cliona A. Levy submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae Madeline Marzano-Lesnevich (Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, attorneys).
Demetrios K. Stratis submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae Monmouth Rubber & Plastics, Corp. and John M. Bonforte, Sr., (Demetrios K. Stratis, attorneys; Mr. Stratis and Vincent P. McCarthy, on the brief).
Stephen M. Orlofsky and Jordana Cooper submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae National Association of Social Workers and National Association of Social Workers New Jersey Chapter (Blank Rome, attorneys).
Steven G. Sanders submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae National Black Justice Coalition (Arseneault, Fassett & Mariano, attorneys).
Robert R. Fuggi, Jr., submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae National Legal Foundation (Fuggi & Fuggi, attorneys).
Michael Behrens submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae The New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage, The New Jersey Family Policy Council and The New Jersey Catholic Conference (Messina & Laffey, attorneys).
Debra E. Guston and Trayton M. Davis, a member of the New York bar, submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae New Jersey Religious Leaders and National and Regional Religious Organizations in Support of Marriage (Guston & Guston, attorneys).
Stuart A. Hoberman, President, submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae New Jersey State Bar Association (Mr. Hoberman, attorney; Felice T. Londa, Andrew J. DeMaio, Gail Oxfeld Kanef, Robert A Knee, Scott A. Laterra and Thomas J. Snyder, on the brief).
R. William Potter submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae Princeton Justice Project and Undergraduate Student Government of Princeton University (Potter and Dickson, attorneys; Mr. Potter and Linda A. Colligan, on the brief).
Michael P. Laffey submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae Professors of Psychology and Psychiatry.
Adam N. Saravay submitted a brief on behalf of amicus curiae Professors of the History of Marriage, Families, and the Law (McCarter & English, attorneys; Mr. Saravay and Sydney E. Dickey, on the brief).
Donald D. Campbell submitted a letter in lieu of brief on behalf of amici curiae United Families International and United Families-New Jersey (Campbell & Campbell, attorneys).
Ralph Charles Coti submitted a brief on behalf of amici curiae James Q. Wilson, Douglas Allen, Ph.D., David Blankenhorn, Lloyd R. Cohen, J.D., Ph.D., John Coverdale, J.D., Nicholas Eberstadt, Ph.D., Robert P. George, J.D., Harold James, Ph.D., Leon R. Kass, M.D., Ph.D., Douglas W. Kmiec and Katherine Shaw Spaht (Coti & Segrue, attorneys).
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