By Katie Garcia, Freedom to Marry's Communications Intern 

 

Yesterday, the US Trustee asked to withdraw the appeal in its challenge to joint bankruptcy petition filed by a married same-sex couple, setting the stage for the new Department of Justice (DOJ) policy to no longer dismiss bankruptcy filings of married same-sex couples. This new policy represents the DOJ’s decision to no longer defend the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was the base for dismissing bankruptcy cases filed by married same-sex couples. 

Gene Douglas Balas and Carlos Morales were married in California during the brief period when marriage was legal in the state. George and Morales filed for bankruptcy jointly as a married couple in 2011. However, the US Trustee asked the court to dismiss this file because under DOMA married same-sex couples are not recognized as eligible to file for bankruptcy jointing. In a victory for marriage, the court ruled and George and Carlos’s case would not be dismissed because DOMA is unconstitutional on June 13. However, the US filed for appeal of this decision and it is this appeal that the US Trustee withdrew yesterday. 

The decision to withdraw the appeal on this case came after the US Trustee consulted with the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), a group that is actively participating in numerous other courts where the constitutionality of DOMA is being challenged. According to Assistant US Trustee Jill Sturtevant, 

With this decision less than a week after the DOJ filed the brief in Karen Golinski’s case arguing that DOMA is unconstitutional, this latest move by the US Trustee and the DOJ shows that the Justice Department is finally living up to its name and promise by no longer defending this unjust law. 

To read more about yesterday’s US Trustee decision, click here.