Tag Archives: James Esseks

Supreme Court: déjà vu all over again?

The argument next month before the Supreme Court sounds an awful lot like cases which have already been argued and decided, but this one, says the ACLU, could lead to a "license to discriminate against many people."

Strength and longevity of legal gains may change in 2016 politics and lawsuits

Coming off another high achievement year, the LGBT community can relax and take it easy for a while now, right? This is the LGBT Golden Age, right? That may depend on whether LGBT people seek 24 karat gold equality or

Fourth Circuit clash over Virginia ban: Whose children must the state protect with marriage laws?

The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals hearing Tuesday was, as Judge Paul Niemeyer characterized it, just one step along the way to an eventual U.S. Supreme Court ruling on whether states, like Virginia, can ban same-sex couples from marrying.

Post-DOMA: Litigation abounds to secure details and free states that still have bans, including in the south

“The lay of the land is getting a bit complicated,” says James Esseks, director of the ACLU’s National LGBT and AIDS Project. Esseks, who was one of the attorneys involved in pressing the case of Edith Windsor –the case which

Surprises embedded in Second Circuit ruling; may improve prospects at Supreme Court

The ruling by a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel was not a big surprise. But the panel’s related ruling—that laws should be held to a heightened standard of review when they treat people differently because of their sexual