SC same-sex marriage: Judge Sets Oct. 23 Deadline for Briefs

COLUMBIA, SC — A federal judge is undecided on whether to hear arguments in person from attorneys representing S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and Attorney General Alan Wilson as well as lawyers representing a married Lexington County same sex couple.

Judge Michelle Childs said Tuesday she will decide later, most likely in November, whether she will hear oral arguments in the ongoing same sex marriage case that will determine whether bans on same sex marriage in existing South Carolina law and the state constitution will be overturned.

Childs made her statement in a written order filed Tuesday morning in the case in U.S. District Court in Columbia.

In the order, Childs set forth the schedule for opposing attorneys in the case to file written briefs and responses.

All written briefs from each side must be submitted to her by Oct. 23, she wrote. Childs gave the parties an additional 21 days to file replies.

“If the court decides to have a hearing, it will be scheduled no earlier than 14 days after the filing or replies,” Childs wrote.