Doe v. State
South Carolina Supreme Court
808 S.E.2d 807 (2017)
- Written by Haley Gintis, JD
Facts
On August 12, 2015, Jane Doe (plaintiff) petitioned for an order of protection against her former fiancé pursuant to South Carolina’s Protection from Domestic Abuse Act. The act allowed for a victim of domestic violence to obtain an order of protection against a household member. The act defined household members as a male and female who have cohabitated together. Doe alleged that she and her former fiancé had cohabitated for five years and that she had been a victim of her former fiancé’s abuse. A family-court judge denied Doe’s petition on the ground that, as a same-sex couple, Doe and her fiancé did not meet the statutory definition of household members. In response, Doe filed an action against the State of South Carolina (defendant) on the ground that the statutory definition violated the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Beatty, C.J.)
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