U.S. District Judge Dismisses Federal Employee Lawsuit Challenging Defense Of Marriage Act But Allows For Possibility Of Direct Challenge To Constitutional Validity Of Spousal Benefits Denial

Reuters reports that United States District Judge Jeffrey White Wednesday dismissed a lesbian federal employee's effort to obtain health insurance for her same sex spouse, according to a court ruling, White dismissing the case brought by Karen Golinski on procedural grounds, as well as denying her request for an injunction. He did, however, allow the possibility for Golinski to directly challenge the constitutional validity of the benefits denial. The administration of President Barack Obama has opposed Golinski's lawsuit, even after the Justice Department announced in February that a federal statute defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman, known as the Defense of Marriage Act, was unconstitutional. Golinski, an attorney who works for a United States appeals court in San Francisco, requested in 2008 that her same sex spouse be added to her family health insurance plan, according to court filings. Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, acting as a court administrator, ordered Golinski's insurance carrier to provide the benefits. But the Office of Personnel Management instructed the insurance carrier not to comply. Golinski sued the personnel office to enforce the order. In response, administration attorneys did not argue the constitutionality of the law; instead they argued Kozinski's order was not enforceable through the kind of lawsuit Golinski filed. White agreed Wednesday, but wrote that he would address the constitutionality of the law to "unfairly" restrict benefits if it were placed before him. The judge gave Golinski's lawyers a chance to file an amended lawsuit. Jennifer Pizer, a lawyer for Golinski, said they would submit new arguments by April 15th, along the lines White prescribed, adding "We're hoping to achieve a result for Karen and her family in the near term.”