Utah AG Studying Status of Same-Sex Marriages Already Performed In the State

Following yesterday's Supreme Court order that halts same-sex marriages in Utah while the appeal in Herbert v. Kitchen makes its way through the 10th Circuit, the status of same-sex couples who have married since the Dec. 20 district court decision allowing them is uncertain.  Yesterday the Utah Attorney General's Office issued an Official Statement  saying that it "is carefully evaluating the legal status of the marriages that were performed since the District Court’s decision and will not rush to a decision that impacts Utah citizens so personally." It explained:

There is not clear legal precedence for this particular situation. This is the uncertainty that we were trying to avoid by asking the District Court for a stay immediately after its decision.  It is very unfortunate that so many Utah citizens have been put into this legal limbo.

Noah Feldman has an interesting discussion of the Supreme Court's action at Bloomberg Opinion.