Arizona Same-Sex Marriage Challenge

In December 2013, Shawn Aiken agreed to represent Tempe residents Joe Connolly and Terry Pochert in a legal challenge to Arizona’s prohibition on same-sex marriage — Connolly v. Brewer.

On January 6, 2014, Shawn filed a 24-page complaint for permanent injunction and declaratory judgment in federal court in Phoenix, asking the court to strike Arizona’s ban. He was assisted in drafting the complaint by his daughter, Ellen, an attorney, and his son Eric, then a law student. Soon after, five experienced lawyers volunteered to join as co-counsel, working alongside the team at Shawn’s firm.

In the months that followed, six other couples from around the state joined as plaintiffs, and in March another lawsuit joined the challenge to Arizona’s same-sex marriage ban.

In October 2014, U.S. District Judge John Sedwick ruled for the plaintiffs in both lawsuits, overturning Arizona’s ban. The Attorney General did not appeal the ruling and instructed the state’s county clerks to issue licenses to same-sex couples.

Shawn’s successful challenge preceded by eight months the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. In 2015, Shawn’s firm received the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Award for his work on the case.

Amended Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Declaratory Judgment — February 10, 2014

Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment — Memorandum of Law — April 21, 2014

Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment — Statement of Facts — April 21, 2014

Order and Opinion — October 17, 2014

KTVK TV3 — Response to the Holder Same-Sex Memo

HRC Arizona — 2015 Corporate Award Acceptance

MSNBC — Arizona Same-Sex Marriage