On October 18, 2016, a Louisiana naturalized citizen filed this lawsuit against the State of Louisiana in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana for denying his constitutional rights to marriage. Proceeding under 42 U.S.C. §1983, the plaintiff challenged the constitutionality of Louisiana’s Act 436, which required all applicants for a marriage license to provide a certified birth certificate and permitted this requirement to be waived by individuals born in the U.S. The plaintiff, born in an Indonesian refugee camp without a birth certificate, alleged that Act 436 violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment because it prevents certain foreign-born individuals from exercising their fundamental right to marriage. The plaintiff sought a declaration that the State's denial of his marriage license violated the Constitution, in addition to a preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining defendants from further denying a marriage license to the plaintiff.

On February 2, 2017, the plaintiff filed a motion for preliminary injunction. Amicus briefs were filed in support of the plaintiff by Constitutional Accountability Center, ACLU, and National Center for Lesbian Rights. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim on February 23.

On March 23, Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle granted the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction and denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss. The Court found that the plaintiff had standing and that he satisfied all the necessary elements for a preliminary injunction. 2017 WL 1091261.

The plaintiff then filed the first amended complaint on April 12, 2017 with minor modifications. On May 24, the plaintiff filed a motion for partial summary judgment, declaratory judgment, and permanent injunction.

On August 8, Judge Lemelle granted the plaintiff’s motions. The court found that Louisiana failed to demonstrate that “this classification based on national origin furthers a compelling governmental interest that justify treating this Plaintiff and other similarly situated U.S. citizens differently from U.S. born citizens.” In addition, the court found that the plaintiff has also demonstrated actual success on the merits of the due process claim. 301 F.Supp.3d 661.

On February 21, 2018, Judge Lemelle ordered the defendants to pay the plaintiff $154,754 in attorney’s fees and costs.

The case is now closed.

Sichun Liu - 05/15/2019


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