Darby v. Orr, the lawsuit filed by several area couples against the Cook County Clerk's Office, might still be pending, despite the passage of same-sex marriage legislation Nov. 5.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs had said they would move to dismiss the lawsuit should SB10, the Religious Fairness and Marriage Equality Act, be signed into law. Gov. Pat Quinn announced that he would sign the bill Nov. 20. As late as Nov. 5, James BennettMidwest regional director for Lambda Legal, which is representing the plaintiffs along with ACLU Illinoissaid Darby is "moot."
But he and other attorneys began to have more conversations about the later start date of SB10. The legislation, as originally written, called for a start date 30 days after the governor's signature. But the bill passed through the House during a veto session, with less than a three-fifths majority in the legislature. According to the Illinois State Constitution, that means the legislation can't take effect until June 1, 2014, which is now the earliest Illinois same-sex couples can marry.
Bennett said Nov. 7 that the legal team was weighing options in order to consider whether the lawsuit might be able to prompt marriages to begin sooner. By not being able to marry until June 1, "the couples are still being harmed," according to Bennett.
"We're certainly not automatically dismissing the lawsuit while there is still a constitutional violation going on," said Camilla Taylor, marriage project director for Lambda Legal. "We are discussing our options with our clients."
"The case is certainly not moot yet," added ACLU Illinois LGBT and AIDS Project Director John Knight. "These people are enduring daily harm by not being able to marrysome of our plaintiffs are advanced in years and have health issues, and are concerned about having to wait so long."
Knight added that he hoped the attorneys would know how they would proceed by the week of Nov. 11. Hearings for Darby are scheduled to continue Nov. 14.
The lawsuits were filed in mid-2012. Cook County Clerk David Orr, who is in favor of marriage equality, has refused to defend the state's marriage ban, so the Thomas More Society, a conservative law firm, is representing five opposing county clerks in the matter.
The Thomas More Society filed a motion Nov. 7 to stay all further proceedings, contending that the lawsuit should be dismissed as moot. The court order only stayed the matter until Nov. 14, however. The case is being heard by Judge Sophia Hall, who is openly lesbian.