![]() The propriety of either is independent of the other. On the other hand, venue is the place or geographical location of trial. Subject matter jurisdiction is the power to hear and determine cases of the general class to which the proceedings in question belong. The distinction between subject matter jurisdiction and venue is an important one in the law. 235, 442 S.E.2d 598 (1994) does a good job of explaining the difference: Figuring it might be useful to have all my research on venue in one place, here it is:Īttorneys and litigants sometime confuse subject matter jurisdiction, which is never waivable, with venue, which always is. I’ve been getting asked a number of questions from local family court attorneys regarding venue (the county in which a case is properly heard) in family court. of Public Health, a Lambda Legal case in which a legally married same-sex couple in Iowa gave birth to a stillborn baby and was issued a death certificate by the health department with one of the mothers’ names removed with correction fluid.Venue in South Carolina family court Posted Friday, April 8th, 2011 by Gregory Formanįiled under Family Court Procedure, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific Iowa now joins every other state that permits same-sex couples to marry, enter into civil unions, or enter comprehensive domestic partnerships, in issuing birth certificates to children of same-sex couples in a legal relationship on the same terms as to children of married different-sex couples. This is great news for the Gartner family and for the long list of children who have been born to married same-sex parents since 2009 and who have been waiting for a two-parent birth certificate that reflects their family. ![]() The same marital protection for both parents' relationships to their child holds true for same-sex couples and their children. We take for granted that a husband is the father of a child born to his wife through reproductive technology-regardless of whether he is his child's genetic parent. Same-sex couples and their children do not get marriage “lite.” Marriage is marriage and equal is equal. The Court meant what it said in the Varnum decision: Same-sex couples and their families must be treated equally under the law. ![]() We just want our child to have the same respect and treatment that every other child born to married parents receives, and now we can move forward.Ĭamilla Taylor, Lambda Legal's Marriage Project Director, adds: Therefore, the only explanation for not listing the nonbirthing lesbian spouse on the birth certificate is stereotype or prejudice. In today’s decision, Justice David Wiggins wrote:īy naming the nonbirthing spouse on the birth certificate of a married lesbian couple's child, the child is ensured support from that parent and the parent establishes fundamental legal rights at the moment of birth. In January 2012, the Iowa District Court for Polk County ordered the health department to issue an accurate birth certificate to Mackenzie, which it did while also appealing that court's decision. In May 2010, Lambda Legal filed suit on behalf of Mackenzie Gartner. ![]() However, Iowa law establishes that a child born to married parents is the legitimate child of both spouses regardless of genetic relationship, and requires the Department of Public Health to list both spouses as parents on the birth certificate accordingly. Iowa's Department of Public Health denied the request on the ground that Melissa is not Mackenzie's genetic parent. After receiving a birth certificate that listed Heather as the only parent, the couple requested a corrected birth certificate listing both spouses as Mackenzie's parents. Lambda Legal represents Mackenzie Gartner, who was born in September 2009 to Heather and Melissa Gartner, a lesbian couple who legally married in Iowa before she was born. Brien, which ordered that same-sex couples and their families be treated equally under state law, and won the right for same-sex couples to marry. The Court built upon its 2009 ruling in Lambda Legal's landmark case Varnum v. The Iowa Supreme Court today ordered the state health department to provide an accurate two-parent birth certificate to all children born to lesbian married parents.
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