Lockyer v. City and County of San Francisco

95 P.3d 459 · 2004

Facts

Gavin Newsom, Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco, requested the County Clerk to issue marriage licenses on a non-discriminatory basis, believing California's marriage statutes limiting marriage to a man and a woman were unconstitutional. In response, the County Clerk designed gender-neutral forms, altering state-prescribed forms by replacing gender-specific terms with gender-neutral ones. Beginning February 12, 2004, the clerk issued approximately 4,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and the county recorder registered the corresponding marriage certificates. These actions were taken without any court having determined the state marriage statutes to be unconstitutional.

Issue

Did local executive officials, charged with the ministerial duty of enforcing state marriage statutes, exceed their authority by deliberately declining to enforce those statutes based on their personal opinion that the statutes were unconstitutional, without a prior judicial determination of unconstitutionality?

Holding

Yes, the local officials exceeded their authority. The court held that in the absence of a judicial determination that California's statutory provisions limiting marriage to a union between a man and a woman are unconstitutional, local executive officials lacked the authority to issue marriage licenses to, solemnize marriages of, or register certificates of marriage for same-sex couples, and such marriages are void and of no legal effect.

Rule

A local executive official, charged with the ministerial duty of enforcing a state statute, generally lacks the authority to determine that a statute is unconstitutional and, on that basis, refuse to apply it, absent a judicial determination. This rule is rooted in the separation of powers, where the judiciary interprets statutes and determines their constitutionality, while the executive enforces them. Statutes are presumed constitutional until judicially declared otherwise, and an official's authority is measured by the terms of the governing statute. Exceptions, such as those in public finance cases, are narrow and do not apply when other clear avenues for judicial review exist and personal liability is not a factor.

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