Writer Woman cannot be man-made, or so ruled two of three justices Wednesday in an appellate court opinion on a San Antonio transsexual's suit. In a medical malpractice suit, she alleged her husband's death in 1996 was preventable and the result of a missed diagnosis. Hardberger agreed with 285th District Court Judge Frank Montalvo in his ruling that Littleton's marriage to Jonathon Littleton was a same-sex marriage, therefore illegal. The ruling denies Littleton any standing as the spouse and affirms the defense's claim that no operation changes the genetics of the male chromosome.
Cases involving transsexuals are the rarest of sex cases in courts of law.
Only four similar cases exist in the world, the chief justice noted. Justice Alma L. Lopez cast the dissenting vote. She claimed the majority ignored rules of civil procedure in accepting Littleton's original birth certificate. To set aside a suit, a defendant must show that no genuine issue of material fact exists, Lopez stated. Texas law recognizes that inaccuracies occur in recording gender.