If the U.S. Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional - as many legal scholars predict - lower courts should move quickly to apply the new precedent to several Alabama cases, according to attorneys involved in the cases.

The high court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in an appeal from Ohio, where a federal appeals court bucked the legal trend and upheld state bans on gay marriage. A ruling is expected by summer.

If the decision is a clear win for gay marriage, attorneys said they expect judges to rule in favor of litigants whose cases currently are before trial courts or the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. And that should end the battle, at least in the legal arena, same-sex marriage advocates said.

"Officially, yes, I do think it is the end of the discussion," said Heather Fann, an attorney for a group of gay couples seeking to marry.

David Kennedy, an attorney who represented the Mobile couple whose lawsuit prompted a Jan. 23 ruling striking down Alabama's same-sex marriage ban, said he believes the specific language of the Supreme Court ruling matters

"It just depends on what comes out of Washington," he said.

The Alabama Supreme Court has challenged the federal courts, ordering probate judges to continuing following the ban on gay marriage until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in. Kennedy said further resistance in some quarters is possible even after that.

He pointed the experience of his client, Cari Searcy, who is trying to complete a step-parent adoption of the 9-year-old boy she has raised with spouse Kim McKeand from birth. Searcy filed a second lawsuit after Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis indicated he would not give final approval of the adoption until after the U.S. Supreme Court case.

Davis ultimately amended that order but then recused himself, citing the lawsuit. Kennedy said the result has been similar to a formal stay. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has not appointed a replacement judge to hear the case.

"We don't have a judge, and that's where it stands," he said. "It's up to Judge Moore to get us a judge."

The issue is about more than marriage licenses. Randal Marshall, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said he has heard complaints from married gay couples who have been denied requests to change their driver's licenses to reflect a married name.

"There are a number of things that are happening that raise questions," he said.

Here is a case-by-case look at where the gay marriage litigation in Alabama stands, in the order in which it was filed.

Hard v. Bentley

Venue: U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama, in Montgomery.

Filed: Dec. 16, 2013

Details: Paul Hard sued to compel Alabama to recognize his marriage to Charles David Fancher in order to become the beneficiary of proceeds from a 2011 traffic accident that claimed the man's life. Without recognition of the marriage, Hard is not entitled to any proceeds from the suit, which the parties settled out of court in July 2014.

Status: U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins On March 10 agreed to put the case on hold until a "definitive ruling" by the Supreme Court.

Searcy v. Strange

Venue: 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Atlanta

Filed: May 7 in Mobile's federal court.

Details: Cari Searcy and Kim McKeand sued to gain recognition of their California marriage so that Cari Searcy could complete a second-parent adoption of the son they have raised since birth. U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. "Ginny" Granade ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, declaring Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

Status: The appeals court allowed Granade's ruling to take effect but has postponed final resolution of the case. Also still to be determined is attorneys' fees.

Aaron-Brush v. Bentley

Venue: U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama, in Birmingham

Filed: June 10.

Details: Vestavia Hills residents April and Ginger Aaron-Brush sued in an effort to force Alabama to recognize their marriage in Massachusetts marriage. Without marriage recognition, only April Aaron-Brush is the legal parent of the child they have raised since birth.

Status: U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor on Feb. 4 agreed to a request by the litigants to change the schedule to postpone the deadline for filing motions until July 31. The result should be a U.S. Supreme Court decision before any resolution of this case.

Strawser v. Strange

Venue: U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama, Mobile

Filed: Sept. 11

Details: James Strawser and John Humphrey sued for the right to marry each other. Three days after Granade ruled that the state could not enforce the gay marriage ban; after emergency appeals failed, Strawser and Humphrey got married.

Status: Although Strawser and Humphrey got their marriage license, the case lives on with several other plaintiffs who joined the suit. Attorneys are asking Granade to certify the complaint as a class-action suit against all Alabama probate judges. The judge has not ruled on that request, although on Friday, she did rebuff defense requests to dismiss the case.

Hedgepeth v. Bentley

Venue: U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama, Mobile

Filed: Feb. 9

Details: Several gay couples who found closed marriage license windows in Mobile in the days after Granade's original same-sex marriage ruling. Granade ordered Davis not to withhold marriage licenses from gay couples, allowing them to get married.

Status: Granade dismissed the case, but Chief Justice Roy Moore, a defendant in the case, has asked Granade to amend the dismissal order to make it "with prejudice." That would prevent the plaintiffs from re-litigating the case against him for any reason. Lawyers for the plaintiffs want it to remain "without prejudice," which would allow them to resurrect the complaint.

Searcy v. Davis

Venue: U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama, Mobile

Filed: Feb. 24

Details: Searcy sued Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis alleging that was violating Granade's ruling invalidating that same-sex marriage ban. Searcy argued that Davis was treating her differently from other petitioners seeking to adopt because he put the case on hold until June with an explanation that he would not rule until after the Supreme Court decision.

Status: Granade dismissed the case after Davis amended his order and bowed out of the case, saying that the lawsuit created a conflict of interest. The adoption case remains in limbo, however, because Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has not appointed a replacement probate judge.