Obergefell v. Hodges
The U.S. Supreme Court case, Obergefell v. Hodges, is not the result of one lawsuit. Instead, it is the result of a consolidation of six lower-court cases originally representing sixteen same-sex couples, seven of their children, a widower, an adoption agency, and a funeral director. The original cases hail from the four states of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. All six federal district courts ruled for the same-sex couples and other claimants. The lead plaintiff in the case was Jim Obergefell. He had challenged Ohio's ban on same-sex marriage. He filed the lawsuit because he could not put his name on his partner, John Arthur's death certificate. Ohio would not recognize their marriage in Maryland.