New Jersey high
court to rule on same-sex marriage

Contrary to earlier reports that the New Jersey supreme court could take months to decide whether to allow same-sex couples to marry, the court will hand down its ruling in the case at 3 p.m. EST on Wednesday, according to a notice on the court's web site.

There has been much speculation that the high court would rule on Wednesday, one day before Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz's mandatory retirement on her 70th birthday. But several media outlets reported this week that the court can hand down rulings after a particular justice's last day without nullifying her participation or vote.

Lawrence S. Lustberg, who argues frequently before the court and represents the gay plaintiffs in the case at hand, told The New York Times that the decision in the case, Lewis v. Harris, ''is the most eagerly anticipated opinion'' he has ever seen. Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, concurred, saying, ''Most of us in the gay community have no fingernails left.''

Acccording to the Times, the New Jersey supreme court, widely known as one of the most liberal state high courts in the nation, is seen as among the most independent--a point that supporters of same-sex marriage have emphasized, as appellate courts in three other states have ruled this year that their constitutions do not include such rights for same-sex couples. (The Advocate)