Arkansas to pay attorney for same-sex couples in lawsuit

Attorney Cheryl Maples. Danny Johnston, AP.

Little Rock, Ark. — The state of Arkansas has been ordered to pay more than $71,000 to the attorney for same-sex couples who won a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the state's birth-certificate law was unconstitutional.

Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox ruled Friday that the state must pay attorney Cheryl Maples for her work leading to the ruling that Arkansas must issue birth certificates to married lesbian couples that list both spouses as the parents of their children.

Related:
Supreme Court sides with same-sex couples in Arkansas suit
Arkansas legislature must change birth certificate law
Dispute over naming both same-sex parents halts Arkansas birth certificates


Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. Danny Johnston, AP.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's spokeswoman, Jessica Ray, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the ruling is being reviewed. The state could appeal the order.

Maples filed the lawsuit in 2015 which led to the Supreme Court ruling last June that Arkansas' birth certificate law is unconstitutional because it defines parents by gender.

___

Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com

Copyright 2018 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The Gayly – February 17, 2018 @ 1:55 p.m. CST.