Baker v. Nelson
E28840
Baker v. Nelson was a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court case that summarily dismissed a same-sex marriage claim, effectively allowing states to ban such marriages until it was later overturned by Obergefell v. Hodges.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Baker et al. v. Nelson, Clerk of Hennepin County | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
same-sex marriage case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
constitutional law
ⓘ
family law ⓘ |
| category |
United States LGBT rights case
ⓘ
United States constitutional case ⓘ United States marriage case ⓘ |
| citation | 409 U.S. 810 ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvisionInvolved |
Fourteenth Amendment
ⓘ
surface form:
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
|
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1972-10-10 ⓘ |
| decisionMethod | per curiam order ⓘ |
| disposition | appeal dismissed for want of a substantial federal question ⓘ |
| docketNumber | 71-1027 ⓘ |
| effect | allowed states to prohibit same-sex marriage for decades ⓘ |
| fullCaseName |
Baker v. Nelson
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Baker et al. v. Nelson, Clerk of Hennepin County
|
| hasJurisdiction |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| holding | same-sex marriage claims did not present a substantial federal question under the U.S. Constitution ⓘ |
| impact | influenced litigation strategy in early same-sex marriage cases ⓘ |
| languageOfProceedings | English ⓘ |
| laterTreatment | limited and undermined by subsequent Supreme Court decisions ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
Due Process Clause
ⓘ
Equal Protection Clause ⓘ same-sex marriage ⓘ |
| legalSystem | common law ⓘ |
| originatingCourt | Minnesota Supreme Court ⓘ |
| originatingJurisdiction | Minnesota ⓘ |
| overruledBy | Obergefell v. Hodges ⓘ |
| party |
James Michael McConnell
ⓘ
Richard John Baker ⓘ |
| partyType | same-sex couple ⓘ |
| precedentialEffect | binding summary disposition on lower federal courts at the time ⓘ |
| precedentStatusBeforeObergefell | treated as controlling on same-sex marriage claims by many lower courts ⓘ |
| proceduralPosture | appeal from Minnesota Supreme Court ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
Lawrence v. Texas (in part)
ⓘ
surface form:
Lawrence v. Texas
Obergefell v. Hodges ⓘ United States v. Windsor ⓘ |
| relationshipToCase | precedent considered in Obergefell v. Hodges ⓘ |
| resultForPlaintiffs | relief denied ⓘ |
| shortName | Baker v. Nelson self-link ⓘ |
| stateLawChallenged | Minnesota marriage law restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
LGBT rights in the United States
ⓘ
civil rights ⓘ marriage licensing ⓘ |
| subsequentHistory | treated as no longer controlling after doctrinal developments culminating in Obergefell v. Hodges ⓘ |
| timePeriod | pre-Obergefell same-sex marriage jurisprudence ⓘ |
| typeOfDecision | summary dismissal ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1972 ⓘ |
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Baker et al. v. Nelson, Clerk of Hennepin County