PA Clerk's Request for 'En Banc' Denied by 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals
PHILADELPHIA — A federal appeals court has rejected a Pennsylvania county clerk’s latest effort to overturn a federal judge’s ruling allowing same-sex couples to marry in the state.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Monday denied a request by Theresa Santai-Gaffney, the Register of Wills and Orphans’ Court Clerk for Schuylkill County, Pa., seeking an “en banc” hearing in her bid to gain standing to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
A request for an en banc hearing is when the case is considered by the entire bench of 14 judges on Third Circuit, instead of just three judges.
Santai-Gaffney, who is represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom — a conservative legal group also representing clerks in Virginia and Oklahoma same-sex marriage cases — asked the U.S. Supreme Court last month to stop same-sex marriages in Pennsylvania. Without comment, Justice Samuel Alito rejected that motion.
Santai-Gaffney is expected to return to the Supreme Court to appeal the Third Circuit decision. The US Supreme Court has denied her previous request for a stay.
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