Rosenbrahn v. Daugaard (SD)
Complaint filed 5/22/2014; SCOTUS ruling issued 6/26/2015
On May 22, 2014, six same-sex couples filed a federal lawsuit in Sioux Falls seeking the freedom to marry in South Dakota. The case challenged South Dakota’s laws prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying and refusing to respect the legal marriages of same-sex couples who married in other states. On July 3, 2014, the plaintiffs asked a United States District Court to declare the state’s ban on marriage equality unconstitutional. The six couples filed a motion asking the court to rule that South Dakota’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples violated the equal protection and due process guarantees of the United States Constitution. The District Court heard arguments on October 17, 2014 in Sioux Falls. On January 12, 2015, the U.S. District Court in South Dakota ruled that the state’s marriage ban violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection. The judge stayed her ruling pending appeal. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in NCLR’s Tennessee marriage case and cases from three other states affirming the freedom to marry in every state and U.S. territory.
