• Wisconsin opposes $1.2 million attorney fees in same-sex marriage case

    The Wisconsin Department of Justice is opposing civil rights advocates’ claims for $1.2 million in attorney fees they say they accumulated fighting the state’s gay marriage ban.

  • Wisconsin DOJ didn’t track hours spent defending state’s gay marriage ban

    The state Department of Justice says it doesn’t have any records of the hours it spent defending Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban, making the full cost of fighting the case impossible to determine.

  • Lawyers who fought Wisconsin marriage ban seek $1.2 million in legal fees

    Thirteen lawyers and a team of paralegals spent 2,393 hours on the case; they say the large costs are due to the state’s vigorous defense of the ban.

  • Wisconsin governor, AG concede same-sex marriage fight is over

    MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s Republican attorney general is conceding the fight to preserve the state’s same-sex marriage ban is over. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away appeals from five states, including Wisconsin, seeking to prohibit same-sex marriages.

  • Federal appeals court stays Wisconsin same-sex marriage ruling

    MADISON, Wis. — A federal appeals court on Wednesday stayed a ruling that Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month upheld U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb’s June ruling that the ban violated gay couples’ equal protection rights.

  • Federal appeals court issues scathing rebuke of Wis., Ind. gay marriage bans

    CHICAGO — A U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday that same-sex marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana violate the U.S. Constitution, in another in a series of courtroom wins for marriage equality advocates. The unanimous decision by the three-judge panel of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago bumps the number of states where gay marriage could be legal from 19 to 21.

  • Federal appeals court judges bristle at ‘traditional’ marriage argument

    CHICAGO — Federal appeals court judges considering whether to uphold gay marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin reserved their toughest questions for the states, asking how the bans help society, especially children of same-sex couples. A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case Tuesday. Judge Richard Posner…

  • Plaintiffs in Wis. marriage appeal: ‘Ban serves no rational government purpose’

    MADISON, Wis. — Plaintiffs for eight same-sex couples who challenged Wisconsin’s gay marriage ban are telling a federal appeals court that the ban denies same-sex couples legal protections and serves no rational government purpose. The American Civil Liberties Union made the arguments in a brief filed with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.

  • ACLU objects to Wis. request for full court hearing on gay marriage ruling

    MADISON, Wis. — Gay couples challenging Wisconsin’s ban on same-sex marriages are objecting to the state’s request that the full 7th Circuit Court of Appeals hear arguments in the case. American Civil Liberties Union attorneys representing eight same-sex couples challenging the ban filed an objection Monday to the state’s request that the entire appeals court …

  • Wis. files new request seeking full court review of same-sex marriage ruling

    MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin attorneys have asked the entire 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to hear their arguments on upholding the state’s gay marriage ban. Federal judges have struck down bans in both Wisconsin and Indiana. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals consolidated both states’ appeals last week. Ten judges sit on the 7th Circuit but three-judge panels …