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Animus And Marriage Equality, Susannah W. Pollvogt

Susannah W Pollvogt

Many scholars have speculated about the approach the United States Supreme Court might take in the marriage equality cases currently on its docket. One option that is underexplored is that the Court may revive and rationalize the doctrine of unconstitutional animus. Dormant since the 1996 decision in Romer v. Evans, the doctrine of unconstitutional animus has made only fleeting appearances in the Court’s equal protection jurisprudence, and when it has appeared, it has taken on a distinct incarnation in every instance. For this reason, both scholars and practitioners consider the doctrine to be ill-defined and unreliable. Nonetheless, the doctrine of …