In a decision
handed down Wednesday in Philadelphia, a gay couple jailed
for selling drugs will be allowed contact with each other
while they serve out supervised releases.
It's customary
for the U. S. Probation Office to bar people from
associating with other felons while on supervised release,
but it ordinarily makes exceptions for close
family members. Steven Roberts and Daniel Mangini were
denied their request to be together during their
probationary period, however, because their
relationship was not heterosexual, according to the
American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the
two men in their lawsuit against the probation
department.
When Mangini
learned the good news, he promptly contacted partner
Roberts. Until that moment, Mangini had been barred from
speaking with Roberts for more than a year.
"This opens
possibilities," Mangini said. "Finally we get
to resume our lives together and dream for the
future."
The couple,
together for 20 years, owned property jointly and
raised Roberts's niece to adulthood but later
became addicted to meth. When Roberts and Mangini were
charged with selling the drug, they pled not guilty
and each received a sentence of imprisonment, followed by
five years of supervised release, according to a
statement.
Initially, Judge
Marvin Katz sided with the federal probation department
in keeping the men apart, but the U.S. court of appeals for
the third circuit reversed the decision, demanding
that Katz coordinate further proceedings. At a hearing
Tuesday before the judge, the couple confirmed their
commitment to each other, also mentioning their addiction
recovery. On Wednesday, Katz overturned his original
ruling, citing the landmark Supreme Court ruling
Lawrence v. Texas, which
confirmed that same-sex couples have the same
right to form intimate relationships as opposite-sex
couples.
"This is truly a
great day for our clients, who have been barred from
having any contact with each other for more than a year,"
said Mary Catherine Roper, a staff attorney with the
ACLU of Pennsylvania. "By honoring their commitment to
each other and fighting to be together, Dan and Steven
have helped to bring about groundbreaking law requiring
equal treatment for same-sex couples." (The
Advocate)
