christie-newark-micklow.JPG

Gov. Chris Christie will ask the courts to freeze the start date for same-sex marriages in New Jersey until the state Supreme Court hears his appeal, his administration said today.

(Frances Micklow/The Star-Ledger)

By Salvador Rizzo and Matt Friedman/The Star-Ledger

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie will seek to delay the Oct. 21 start date for same-sex marriages in New Jersey and wants the state Supreme Court to fast-track an appeal in the case, according to a letter sent to the justices today by acting state Attorney General John Hoffman.

If Christie gets the delay he is seeking, known as a stay, same-sex couples would not be able to marry until the appeals process is concluded — and if they win the case.

Democratic leaders in the state Senate also urged the Supreme Court to expedite the case today.

Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled Friday that same-sex couples in New Jersey were being denied equal rights, and that they must be allowed to marry starting Oct. 21 to reap the full range of federal benefits that heterosexual couples receive.

In his letter today, Hoffman advised the justices that he would seek to freeze Jacobson’s order while the Republican governor appealed. Separately, he asked the high court to take the case directly instead of having it go through an intermediate appellate court first.

"The state intends to appeal that order and to seek a stay pending appeal," Hoffman wrote. "At the same time, given the far-reaching implications ... we intend to seek this court’s direct certification of this matter."

Hoffman did not submit legal filings today, but asked the Supreme Court for guidance on how to proceed.

Normally, Superior Court decisions are first challenged in the Appellate Division. But Christie wants the Supreme Court to skip that step, which lawyers on both sides agree could resolve the case more quickly. It’s now up to the justices to decide what to do.

Lawrence Lustberg, an attorney for the six families that won the first round of the legal battle, and the gay-rights group Garden State Equality, said they were "disappointed" that Christie was appealing and trying to delay the date.

"We will oppose the stay," Lustberg said. "We will fight the appeals to the end."

But he said they may agree in asking the Supreme Court to take the case directly.

"It’s in our clients’ interest as well to have this matter decided sooner rather than later," Lustberg said.

If Jacobson declines to delay the Oct. 21 start date, the Christie administration will ask an appellate court for the stay, and if that court says no, it will then ask the Supreme Court, Hoffman advised.

Jacobson, the head judge in Mercer County, said in her decision on Friday that same-sex couples were being denied equal rights "every day" and that they should not be waiting "until some undeterminable future time" to be able to wed.

Civil unions, which New Jersey adopted for gay couples in 2007, are no longer suited to the task of providing equal protection, Jacobson said, because the U.S. Supreme Court extended federal benefits in June to gay couples, but only if they are married.

"Same-sex couples must be allowed to marry in order to obtain equal protection of the law under the New Jersey constitution," the judge wrote.

At a news conference in Trenton today, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and other lawmakers urged the justices to rule by Oct. 21, although lawyers in the case said that time frame would be impossible.

The four senators also said they would keep trying to overturn Christie’s veto of a same-sex marriage bill no matter what the courts do. They have until Jan. 14 to muster the three votes they need to overturn the veto in the Senate. In the Assembly, nearly a dozen votes are needed.

"You’re defending the indefensible," said state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), adding that Christie would be wasting state funds by appealing Jacobson’s ruling. "It is inevitable that marriage equality is the law of the land in the state of New Jersey."

Marsha Shapiro and Louise Walpin, a couple involved in the case who appeared with the senators, said their civil union status affects them every time they get medical treatment.

"No matter how many times we tell hospitals we’re in a civil union, they insist on identifying our relationship as single on the form time and time again," Walpin said.

John Tomicki, president of the New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage, said he hoped the Supreme Court would consider sociological research that "clearly shows why a conjugal construct of marriage — one man and one woman — is a benefit to society."

RELATED COVERAGE

• 'Historic' ruling: Gay marriage ruled legal in N.J., but Christie vows appeal

• Christie: 'Let the people decide' on same-sex marriage

• More Politics







FOLLOW STAR-LEDGER POLITICS: TWITTER | FACEBOOK