Congress Hires Attorney to Defend DOMA In Estate Tax Case Involving Same-Sex Couple

The government has hired a lawyer to represent it in an estate tax case challenging the Internal Revenue Service’s definition of “spouse” under the Defense of Marriage Act.

A former solicitor general April 18 filed a motion in a federal court in New York to defend Congress in the case (Windsor v. United States).

Congress will now represent the government in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in an estate tax dispute brought by Edith Windsor, whose refund for $350,000 in estate taxes was rejected because she did not qualify as the surviving ...