Baker v. Nelson

Baker v. Nelson
Baker v. Nelson
Court	Minnesota Supreme Court
Full case name	Richard John Baker et al., Appellants, v. Gerald Nelson, Clerk of District Court, Fourth Judicial District, in Hennepin County, Respondent
Decided	October 15, 1971
Citation	291 Minn. 310, 191 N.W.2d 185 (1971)
Case history
Prior action	Plaintiff's claim dismissed
Appealed from	Hennepin County
Holding
	OPINION: Denial of the statutory entitlement demanded by gay citizens to marry the adult of one's choice "does not offend the . . . United States Constitution".
Court membership
Chief judge	Oscar Knutson
Case opinions
Decision by	C. Donald Peterson
Majority	unanimous
Concurrence	Martin A. Nelson, William P. Murphy, James C. Otis, Walter F. Rogosheske, Fallon Kelly
Laws applied
	Minn.St. c. 517; U.S. Const. amends I, VIII, IX and XIV
	Overruled by
	Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

Richard John Baker v. Gerald R. Nelson, 291 Minn. 310, 191 N.W.2d 185 (1971), was a case in which the Minnesota Supreme Court decided that construing a marriage statute to restrict marriage licenses to persons of the opposite sex "does not offend" the U.S. Constitution. Baker appealed the decision, and on October 10, 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the appeal "for want of a substantial federal question".^[2]

Because the case came to the Supreme Court through mandatory appellate review (not certiorari), the dismissal constituted a decision on the merits and established Baker v. Nelson as precedent,^[3] although the extent of its precedential effect had been subject to debate.^[4] In May 2013, Minnesota legalized same-sex marriage and it took effect on August 1, 2013.^[5] On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court explicitly overruled Baker in Obergefell v. Hodges, making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.^[6]

^ Title of decision, as posted by the court.
^
409 U.S. 810 (1972): Hennepin County had argued that the marriage license issued previously in Blue Earth County suggested that the "Questions Raised by This Appeal Are Moot."
- George M. Scott, Hennepin County Attorney, "Appellee's Motion to Dismiss Appeal and Brief" in the Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 1972, page 7.
- See: McConnell Files, "America's First Gay Marriage" [binder #3, file #6], Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
^ Cite error: The named reference Winnick was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Coyle, Marcia (August 23, 2010). "The first case, 40 years on". The National Law Journal.
^ Davey, Monica (May 14, 2013). "Minnesota: Governor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Into Law". New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
^ Obergefell v. Hodges, No. 14-556, 576 U.S. 644 (2015).

[opinion-1] Title of decision, as posted by the court.

[2] 409 U.S. 810 (1972): Hennepin County had argued that the marriage license issued previously in Blue Earth County suggested that the "Questions Raised by This Appeal Are Moot."
George M. Scott, Hennepin County Attorney, "Appellee's Motion to Dismiss Appeal and Brief" in the Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 1972, page 7.

See: McConnell Files, "America's First Gay Marriage" [binder #3, file #6], Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.

[3] George M. Scott, Hennepin County Attorney, "Appellee's Motion to Dismiss Appeal and Brief" in the Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 1972, page 7.

[4] See: McConnell Files, "America's First Gay Marriage" [binder #3, file #6], Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.

[Winnick-3] Cite error: The named reference Winnick was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] Coyle, Marcia (August 23, 2010). "The first case, 40 years on". The National Law Journal.

[5] Davey, Monica (May 14, 2013). "Minnesota: Governor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Into Law". New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2015.

[obergefell-6] Obergefell v. Hodges, No. 14-556, 576 U.S. 644 (2015).

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