Documents from the DeBoer v Snyder same-sex marriage trial, Federal Court

Detroit Michigan, 2014, MI #12-civ-10285

The Case: DeBoer v Snyder case is one of only three trials that have ever been held to adjudicate the social science regarding same-sex couples and their children. The DeBoer v Snyder trial decision discredited some arguments against same-sex marriage. The case materials, therefore, may be of historical interest. The transcripts and exhibits below are publicly available on the federal government's court document website, PACER, for a fee. The expert witness reports do not appear to be available on PACER, but they are supposed to be part of the public record, so I have reproduced them here. The PACER record includes many motions that are not reproduced here.

About Me: I was an expert witness for the plaintiffs in this case, here is my contact information Michael J. Rosenfeld Professor Department of Sociology Stanford University 450 Serra Mall Building 120 Stanford, CA 94305 (650) 723-3958 mrosenfe@stanford.edu return to M. Rosenfeld home page return to Stanford University page

Decisions:

• The DeBoer v Snyder decision
• The 6th Circuit reversal on constitutional grounds
• The Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v Hodges which reversed the 6th circuit and made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states

Expert reports for the plaintiffs:	Expert reports for the defendants:
Jane A. Bassett	Douglas W. Allen
David M. Brodzinsky	Loren Marks
George Chauncey	Joseph Price
Nancy F. Cott	Mark D. Regnerus
Jill G. Dettman
Gary J. Gates
Anna R. Kirkland
Michael J. Rosenfeld Initial Report, and Supplemental Report

Trial Transcripts	Related Files
Day 1 part 1, Opening Statements
Day 1 part 2, Brodzinsky
Day 1 part 3, Brodzinsky
Day 1 part 4, Rosenfeld	Rosenfeld's slides
Day 2 part 1, Rosenfeld
Day 2 part 2, Sankaran
Day 3, Gates
Day 4, Cott
Day 5 part 1, County Clerk
Day 5 part 2, Regnerus
Day 6 part 1, Regnerus
Day 6 part 2, Regnerus
Day 6 part 3, Price
Day 7 part 1, Price and Marks
Day 7 part 2, Marks
Day 8, Allen

Other material:

* The 2004 advisory opinion by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, on out of state same-sex marriages (not recognized), and cross adoption by same-sex couples (not allowed).

* Plaintiffs' amended complaint from September, 2012, challenging the constitutionality of the Michigan Marriage Amendment.

* an ACLU et al amicus brief from December, 2012, arguing that the DeBoer v. Snyder case ought not to raise the constitutionality of the Michigan Marriage Amendment.