While Miami University remains ingrained in a legal battle over its domestic partner benefits policy, a ruling in a very similar case in Michigan has determined that its public universities cannot lawfully offer benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of employees.
Both cases raise the same question: whether branches of the government, including public universities, can legally offer benefits to same-sex domestic partners without violating their states' marriage amendments.
Feb. 2, a Michigan appeals court overturned a decision that had upheld the right of public universities and other governmental subdivisions to offer benefits to same-sex domestic partners of their employees. This most recent ruling instead declared that benefit policies currently offered by the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, other public universities and several city governments are in violation of the state's marriage amendment. The plaintiffs in the suit have already declared their intention to appeal the decision.
Because the Michigan ruling was issued by the state court of appeals, it has no direct impact on what practices are legal in Ohio. However, Richard Little, Miami's senior director of university communications, said Michigan's case could still have implications for Miami.
"Of course (the ruling) has no direct legal precedent in Ohio, although sometimes one state court will often cite another," Little said.
While many advocates of domestic partner benefits have seen the Michigan decision as a setback, Little said that it is not an altogether surprising one.
"We've felt from the very beginning that this is something that's going to be (debated) about in the courts in one form or another for several years," Little said. "There will be different twists and turns in this journey, but it will be a very long journey."
The constitutional amendment in Michigan that makes same-sex benefits illegal states:
"To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose."
Michigan voters passed this amendment Nov. 2, 2004 - the same day that Ohioans ratified Issue One, a constitutional amendment that also defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Following the passage of these amendments and similar ones in 25 other states, legal challenges arose over whether other arrangements - such as the recognition of homosexual couples as benefit-eligible - were still permissible.
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Miami's domestic partner benefit policy prompted a legal challenge in November 2005, when Ohio state Rep. Thomas Brinkman (R-Cincinnati) sued the university, saying that its benefit policy violated Ohio's marriage amendment.
Glen Lavy, senior vice president for marriage litigation at the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), the legal organization representing Brinkman, explained why he believes Miami's policy violates Ohio's constitution.
"When a university like Miami decides to give benefits on the basis of a domestic partnership, they are giving that domestic partnership some of the significance of marriage because it also gives benefits to married employees," Lavy said.
Miami has continued to offer these benefits and maintains that its policy does not violate Ohio's constitution. Also, the university has argued that being prevented from offering benefits would impair its ability to compete with other top universities when recruiting faculty.
An Ohio judge threw out Brinkman v. Miami University Nov. 20, saying that Brinkman lacked legal standing to challenge the policy. This decision came before the judge considered the merits of the case, and therefore did not answer the question of whether Miami's policy is constitutional. The ADF has already filed an appeal of the decision.
According to James Madigan; staff attorney for Lambda Legal, the organization that joined Miami in the suit in defense of the university's policy; although the Michigan and Ohio marriage amendments are very similar, they might be varied enough to make a difference in whether domestic partner benefits can be offered in each state.
"The constitutional provisions have some differences that hopefully would allow Ohio courts to recognize that the benefits are not unconstitutional," Madigan said.
Michigan's amendment prohibits recognition of a "similar union" to marriage "for any purpose," while Ohio's declares that, "This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."
While Madigan said the difference between the amendments could allow for a ruling in Miami's favor, Lavy said the wording of Ohio's amendment is actually more restrictive than Michigan's.
"The Michigan language is different from Ohio's marriage amendment, so from one perspective it wouldn't be controlling," Lavy said. "From another perspective, Ohio's language is much stronger than Michigan's so if a court actually addresses the merits ... I think they would come out with the same decision."
Little said that while the university is taking note of this ruling, it will not be a decisive factor in how Miami proceeds with respect to the Brinkman case.
"It doesn't make us nervous or change our legal strategy or change our strong commitment to continue the benefits," Little said.
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