Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court kicked off its new term with some drama on the same-sex marriage front, and a bit of confusion mixed into the proceedings. By tradition, Chief Justice John Roberts -- joined by his eight colleagues -- took to the bench at 10 a.m. and announced the end of the old term and the start of the new, welcoming new lawyers to the court's bar and holding a one-hour argument on a search and seizure case. But many reporters and court observers were downstairs, preoccupied trying to make sense of a surprise move. In brief orders, the justices without explanation announced they had rejected appeals from five states seeking to keep their bans on same-sex marriage in place. Those states are Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin.
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The Supreme Court declines to wade into marriage battles in five states
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As a result, lower court rulings stand and same-sex couples can now marry in those states
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The Supreme Court initially handed reporters a set of orders that was missing 30 pages
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Its refusal to tackle the marriage cases was contained within those 30 pages
The practical effect means gay and lesbian couples in those states could soon become legally wed. @placeholder announced it would start issuing marriage licenses within hours of the court's action.