SALT LAKE CITY — A federal appeals court says it will not allow an attorney representing three same-sex Utah couples to take part in an upcoming hearing on the state’s gay marriage ban.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling Monday. The three couples, who are not plaintiffs in the case, asked the court to let New York attorney Roberta Kaplan participate in the April 10 hearing on their behalf.

Kaplan was the attorney who represented Edith Windsor in last year’s case before the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act.

There are already three gay and lesbian Utah couples in the lawsuit that led a federal judge to overturn Utah’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage in late December.

The state is expected to file its first brief in the appeals case late Monday night.

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