Affidavit of Gerald Nelson with Exhibits from Baker v. Nelson
1/8/1971
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
Add only page 1 to activity:
Add only page 2 to activity:
Add only page 3 to activity:
Add only page 4 to activity:
Add only page 5 to activity:
Add only page 6 to activity:
Add only page 7 to activity:
Add only page 8 to activity:
Add only page 9 to activity:
Add only page 10 to activity:
Add only page 11 to activity:
Add only page 12 to activity:
The earliest same-sex marriage case to be reviewed by the Supreme Court was
Baker v.
Nelson in 1972. On May 18, 1970, University of Minnesota students Richard Baker and James Michael McConnell submitted an
application for a marriage license in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The deputy clerk of the court, Robert Anderson, accepted their application, but would not issue a license unless the County Attorney approved; the application was later denied.
Baker and McConnell took their case to a Minnesota District Court, which dismissed the couple's claims, and then to the state Supreme Court, which
affirmed the lower court's ruling.
On October 10, 1972, Baker and McConnell appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. It denied their claim, stating "The appeal is dismissed for want of a substantial federal question," meaning the Court decided the issue did not directly relate to Federal laws.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Full Citation: Affidavit of Gerald Nelson with Exhibits from Baker v. Nelson; 1/8/1971; Baker v. Nelson, Case # 71-1027; Appellate Jurisdiction Case Files, 1792 - 2010; Records of the Supreme Court of the United States, Record Group 267; National Archives at Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/affidavit-nelson, May 4, 2024]