Latta v. Otter

The states of Idaho and Nevada had statutes that prohibited same-sex marriage and refused to recognize same-sex marriages into which couples had entered in other jurisdictions. Susan Latta, Latta’s partner Traci Ehlers, and other same-sex couples who lived in Idaho or Nevada (the couples) (plaintiffs) brought actions against Idaho Governor C.L. Otter, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, and other state and local officials (the officials) (defendants), seeking to enjoin the enforcement of the statutes. The couples asserted that the statutes violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because the statutes discriminated against the couples based on sexual orientation and sex. The couples thus contended that the statutes were subject to heightened scrutiny. The officials argued that the statutes survived heightened scrutiny because the states purportedly had a compelling interest in supporting opposite-sex marriage, and that support would be undermined if the states permitted same-sex marriage. The officials asserted that opposite-sex parents were better for children than same-sex parents and that supporting the institution of opposite-sex marriage encouraged people to be responsible parents. A Nevada district court upheld Nevada’s statute, but an Idaho district court invalidated Idaho’s statute. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered the cases together on appeal.