Maryland officials are concerned the first webcast of the Court of Appeals? arguments may not go smoothly today.
“We?re contracting with a company in Seattle, but they?re having heavy snow, and we?re having trouble getting in touch with them,” said Sally Rankin, spokeswoman for the Maryland Judiciary, which plans to broadcast the arguments.
Maryland has paid $6,000 to Real Networks Broadcast to host the webcast from today until Tuesday, when the court will hear arguments in a case challenging a 1973 Maryland law that limits marriage to one man and one woman, she said. Residents can watch the arguments at mdcourts.gov.
“We?re creating a page where the webcast will be, and by 10 a.m. [this] morning, we?ll at least have a notice there,” Rankin said. “It might tell people how to watch the arguments; it might tell them to check back in an hour or check back tomorrow.”
The Court of Appeals plans to hear four cases today, Friday and Monday to serve as test runs for the gay marriage case, in which the state is asking the high court to overturn a Baltimore City Circuit Court ruling that a Maryland law defining marriage as being between a man and a woman is unconstitutional.
In all, more than 80 clients and advocacy groups have filed 22 legal briefs in the case.
The case arose from nine gay and lesbian couples who sued five Circuit Court clerks in Maryland after they were denied marriage licenses in the state.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Brooke Murdock ruled that the denial, based on the 1973 law, was unconstitutional because it violated Maryland?s Equal Protection Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on gender.
“After much study and serious reflection, this Court holds that Maryland?s statutory prohibition against same-sex marriage cannot withstand this constitutional challenge,” Murdock wrote. Murdock stayed enforcement of her ruling in anticipation of the appeal.
