UNITED STATES V. WINDSOR (U.S. SUPREME COURT, 2013)

Edith Windsor married her spouse, Thea Spyer, in Canada in 2007.  Spyer died in 2009 following a long illness.  Because Section 3 of DOMA prohibits the federal government from recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples, Windsor was unable to claim the estate tax deduction available to the spouses of straight married couples and was required to pay more than $360,000 in taxes. Windsor sued the federal government for failing to recognize her marriage. ADL submitted a brief urging the Court to find DOMA unconstitutional because it improperly enshrines one particular religious view of marriage into civil law.