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In The United States District Court For The District of Massachusetts
In The United States District Court For The District of Massachusetts
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS ____________________________________ ) SHANNON L. MCLAUGHLIN, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 1:11-cv-11905 ) Judge Richard G. Stearns LEON PANETTA, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ____________________________________) NOTICE TO THE COURT Defendants United States of America, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Attorney General Eric Holder, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, by their undersigned counsel, hereby notify the Court and the parties that the Department of Justice will not defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), 1 U.S.C. 7, and Sections 101(3) and 101(31) of Title 38 of the United States Code under the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment, for the reasons explained in the attached letter to the Court from Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, dated February 21, 2012. The reasons cited in Assistant Attorney General Wests letter are further explained in the letter from the Attorney General to The Honorable John A. Boehner, Speaker of the House, dated February 17, 2012, which is attached thereto. The Attorney General has informed Members of Congress of this decision pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 530D(a)(1)(B)(ii), so that Members who wish to defend Section 3 of DOMA and 38 U.S.C. 101(3) and (31) may pursue that option. Dated: February 21, 2012 Respectfully Submitted,
TONY WEST Assistant Attorney General
CARMEN M. ORTIZ United States Attorney ARTHUR R. GOLDBERG Assistant Deputy Director /s/ Jean Lin JEAN LIN Senior Trial Counsel U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division Federal Programs Branch 20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Phone: (202) 514-3716 Fax: (202) 616-8470 email: [email protected]
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on February 21, 2012, I filed the foregoing Notice to the Court using the CM/ECF system; and that the attorneys for the parties in this case as listed below are registered CM/ECF users:
Ian McClatchey, Esq. [email protected] CHADBOURNE & PARKE LLP 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112 Abbe David Lowell, Esq. [email protected] Christopher D. Man [email protected] CHADBOURNE & PARKE LLP 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW Washington, DC 20036
John M. Goodman, Esq. [email protected] David McKean [email protected] SERVICEMEMBERS LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK Post Office Box 65301 Washington, DC 20035