[4] On September 27, 2013, Mary C. Jacobson, Assignment Judge of the Mercer Vicinage of the Superior Court, ruled that the state must allow same-sex couples to marry.
[5] In her ruling, Judge Jacobson wrote: "Since Windsor, the clear trend has been for Federal agencies to limit the extension of benefits to only those same-sex couples in legally recognized marriages."
She pointed out that the proper issue before the court is whether the New Jersey civil union scheme is unconstitutional because "of the manner it is applied and incorporated by the Federal government."
Because New Jersey enacted a civil union statute that created a "parallel" structure to marriage and the N.J. Supreme Court deferred to the legislature on the actual name of the legal status granted to same-sex couples "as long as the classifications do not discriminate arbitrarily among persons similarly situated," Windsor changed the significance of the state's civil unions scheme.
Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote that "the state has advanced a number of arguments, but none of them overcome this reality: Same-sex couples who cannot marry are not treated equally under the law today.
"[14] The ruling also denied the request for stay because the court could "find no public interest in depriving a group of New Jersey residents of their constitutional right to equal protection while the appeals process unfolds.
"[15] Weddings were performed just after midnight on October 21, 2013, and Governor Christie dropped his administration's appeal of the lower court ruling that morning.