Page 1 - DECLARATION OF SHEILA H.

POTTER IN SUPPORT OF STATE AND COUNTY

DEFENDANTS JOINT RESPONSE TO THE MOTION TO INTERVENE
SP3/cjw/5219869-v1
Department of Justice
1515 SW Fifth Ave, Suite 410
Portland, OR 97201
(971) 673-1880 / Fax: (971) 673-5000
ELLEN F. ROSENBLUM
Attorney General
SHEILA H. POTTER #993485
Deputy Chief Trial Counsel
ANNA M. JOYCE #013112
Solicitor General
MARY WILLIAMS #911241
Special Assistant Attorney General
Department of Justice
1515 SW Fifth Ave, Suite 410
Portland, OR 97201
Telephone: (971) 673-1880
Fax: (971) 673-5000
Email: Sheila.Potter@doj.state.or.us
anna.joyce@doj.state.or.us
mary_h_williams@msn.com
Attorneys for State Defendants
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON
DEANNA L. GEIGER and JANINE M.
NELSON; ROBERT DUEHMIG and
WILLIAM GRIESAR,
Plaintiffs,
v.
JOHN KITZHABER, in his official capacity
as Governor of Oregon; ELLEN
ROSENBLUM, in her official capacity as
Attorney General of Oregon; JENNIFER
WOODWARD, in her official capacity as
State Registrar, Center for Health Statistics,
Oregon Health Authority; and RANDY
WALDRUFF, in his official capacity as
Multnomah County Assessor,
Defendants.
Case No. 6:13-cv-01834-MC
(Lead Case)
DECLARATION OF SHEILA H. POTTER IN
SUPPORT OF STATE AND COUNTY
DEFENDANTS JOINT RESPONSE TO THE
MOTION TO INTERVENE
Case 6:13-cv-01834-MC Document 104 Filed 05/02/14 Page 1 of 8 Page ID#: 980
Page 2 - DECLARATION OF SHEILA H. POTTER IN SUPPORT OF STATE AND COUNTY
DEFENDANTS JOINT RESPONSE TO THE MOTION TO INTERVENE
SP3/cjw/5219869-v1
Department of Justice
1515 SW Fifth Ave, Suite 410
Portland, OR 97201
(971) 673-1880 / Fax: (971) 673-5000
PAUL RUMMELL and BENJAMIN
WEST; LISA CHICKADONZ and
CHRISTINE TANNER; BASIC RIGHTS
EDUCATION FUND,
Plaintiffs,
v.
JOHN KITZHABER, in his official capacity
as Governor of Oregon; ELLEN
ROSENBLUM, in her official capacity as
Attorney General of Oregon; JENNIFER
WOODWARD, in her official capacity as
State Registrar, Center for Health Statistics,
Oregon Health Authority; and RANDY
WALDRUFF, in his official capacity as
Multnomah County Assessor,
Defendants.
Case No. 6:13-cv-02256-TC
I, Sheila H. Potter, declare:
1. I am one of the attorneys for state defendants John Kitzhaber, Ellen Rosenblum,
and Jennifer Woodward. I make the following statements of my own knowledge.
2. The state defendants answer to the Rummell complaint was filed on February 20,
2014; it contained a paragraph stating that the state defendants would not defend the ban on
same-sex marriages under the Oregon constitution but would continue enforcing the ban. After
the Answer was filed, the Attorney General held a press conference and issued a statement to
announce publicly that the state defendants would continue to appear in the case and would
explain their analysis, but that the analysis would not articulate any defense to the same-sex
marriage ban. (An accurate copy of that press release is attached to this Declaration as Exhibit 1;
see Ex. 1.)
3. The National Organization for Marriage issued a press release in response on the
same day, in which NOM president Brian Brown commented specifically on the Attorney
Case 6:13-cv-01834-MC Document 104 Filed 05/02/14 Page 2 of 8 Page ID#: 981
Page 3 - DECLARATION OF SHEILA H. POTTER IN SUPPORT OF STATE AND COUNTY
DEFENDANTS JOINT RESPONSE TO THE MOTION TO INTERVENE
SP3/cjw/5219869-v1
Department of Justice
1515 SW Fifth Ave, Suite 410
Portland, OR 97201
(971) 673-1880 / Fax: (971) 673-5000
Generals announcement that she would not defend the ban and articulated his disagreement with
her decision:
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is shamefully abandoning her
constitutional duty to defend the marriage amendment
overwhelmingly enacted by the people of Oregon. She swore an
oath of office that she would enforce all the laws, not just those she
personally agrees with. The people are entitled to a vigorous
defense of the laws they enact, and the marriage amendment is no
exception to that solemn obligation. Further, Ms. Rosenblum is
dead-wrong in her conclusion that the amendment cannot be
supported by rational legal arguments.
(An accurate copy of the press release, printed from the NOM website and dated
February 20 at 3:35 P.M., is attached as Exhibit 2; see Ex. 2, pp. 2-3.)
4. A copy of a Reuters article reflecting both the Attorney Generals statement and
Mr. Browns reaction was published on February 20, 2014. (An accurate copy of the article on
the New York Times website is attached to this Declaration as Exhibit 3; see Ex. 3.)
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
EXECUTED on May 2 , 2014.
s/ Sheila H. Potter
SHEILA H. POTTER
Deputy Chief Trial Counsel
Case 6:13-cv-01834-MC Document 104 Filed 05/02/14 Page 3 of 8 Page ID#: 982
Skip to contentSkip to navigation
Oregon DOJ Home | Media | Current Releases | 2014 Media Release
STATEMENT OF OREGON ATTORNEY GENERAL ELLEN ROSENBLUM ON
THE SUBJECT OF PENDING LITIGATION CHALLENGING SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE BAN
February 20, 2014
Good morning. As many Oregonians are aware, four couples have brought suit against the state, asking a
federal court to find that Oregons ban on marriage by couples of the same sex violates the right of equality
enshrined in the United States Constitution. I am named as a defendant in the lawsuits, along with the
Governor, and it falls on my office to appear on behalf of the state before the court and answer the couples
claims.
Usually though not always my office defends the state in litigation. As Attorney General, I have
sworn an oath to uphold our states constitution. The lawyers in my office have sworn the same oath. The
oath we took also requires us to uphold the Constitution of the United States which is the supreme law of
our land. Of course, we all take these oaths very seriously.
So it is after much careful study and consideration that I stand before you today to announce that the
Oregon Department of Justice will not defend the prohibition in our state's constitution against marriages
between people of the same sex. A document called an answer filed with the court earlier this morning
informed Judge McShane of our decision. Copies are available for you.
Because our office also represents the people of Oregon, a brief explanation is in order.
The Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution gives people the right to be treated equally by their
government, unless there is a good reason for unequal treatment. That is, any time the government
establishes different sets of rules or laws for different sets of people, there must at least be what the law
calls a rational basis for those differences.
The law in this area is developing and it is now clear that there is no rational basis for Oregon to refuse to
honor the commitments made by same-sex couples in the same way it honors the commitments of opposite
-sex couples. Marriage is the way that loving couples become family to each other and to their extended
families, and there is no good reason to exclude same-sex couples from marriage in Oregon, or from
having their marriages recognized here.
Because we cannot identify a valid reason for the state to prevent the couples who have filed these lawsuits
from marrying in Oregon, we find ourselves unable to stand before federal Judge McShane to defend the
states prohibition against marriages between two men or two women.
We will be explaining our legal reasoning to Judge McShane as this case proceeds. Those of you who are
interested will be more than welcome to review our pleadings as they are filed. Legal papers that are due
by April will fully address our analysis and that of the other parties in the two cases that are now
consolidated.
Thank you.
Plaintiffs Complaint in Geiger et. al v. Kitzhaber et al.
State of Oregons Answer in Geiger et. al v. Kitzhaber et al. | Exhibit A
Plaintiffs Complaint in Rummell et. al v. Kitzhaber et al.
State of Oregons Answer in Rummell et al. v. Kitzhaber et al.
Contact:
Kristina Edmunson, Department of Justice, Kristina.Edmunson@doj.state.or.us, 503-378-6002
EXHIBIT 1, Page 1 of 1
Case 6:13-cv-01834-MC Document 104 Filed 05/02/14 Page 4 of 8 Page ID#: 983
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EXHIBIT 2, Page 3 of 3
Case 6:13-cv-01834-MC Document 104 Filed 05/02/14 Page 7 of 8 Page ID#: 986
GUGLP
MBATHA-RAW
4 -
U.S. | NATIONAL BRIEFING | NORTHWEST
Oregon: Attorney General Wont Defend Ban on Gay Marriage
By REUTERS FEB. 20, 2014
Oregon will not defend a ban on gay marriage in the state, which was sued by four same-sex
couples who say the ban violates the United States Constitution, the state attorney general, Ellen
Rosenblum, said Thursday. Oregon becomes the third state in the past month, after Nevada and
Virginia, to cease defending such bans. It is now clear that there is no rational basis for Oregon to
refuse to honor the commitments made by same-sex couples in the same way it honors the
commitments of opposite sex couples, Ms. Rosenblum, a Democrat, said. The decision will not
immediately legalize same-sex marriage in Oregon, where voters approved a constitutional ban in
2004. Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage, said Ms. Rosenblum
is shamefully abandoning her constitutional duty to defend the marriage amendment
overwhelmingly enacted by the people of Oregon.
A version of this brief appears in print on February 21, 2014, on page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: Oregon:
Attorney General Wont Defend Marriage Ban .
Next in U.S.
How a Gulf Settlement That BP Once Hailed Became Its Target
2014 The New York Times Company
http://nyti.ms/1l3zcee
EXHIBIT 3, Page 1 of 1
Case 6:13-cv-01834-MC Document 104 Filed 05/02/14 Page 8 of 8 Page ID#: 987