Mississippi Declines to Appeal Decision Declaring Gay Adoption Ban Unconstitutional

As reported in Buzzfeed, New York Magazine and other media outlets, on May 2, the state of Mississippi declined to appeal a preliminary injunction entered by Judge Daniel P. Jordan III of the Southern District of Mississippi finding Mississippi's ban on adoption by gay couples to be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution and barring its enforcement. Mississippi was the last state in the country that explicitly banned married gay and lesbian couples from adopting children. Paul, Weiss's clients included three married lesbian couples seeking to adopt, the Campaign for Southern Equality and the Family Equality Council. As of today, the two plaintiff couples who already have children but have been unable to secure second parent adoptions have begun that process.

The Paul, Weiss team included, among others, litigation partners Roberta Kaplan, Andrew Ehrlich and Jaren Janghorbani and associates Joshua Kaye, Jacob Hupart, Michael Nadler, Nila Merola, Amy Beaux, William O'Neil, Rebecca Matte, Asher Smith and Alex Hess.