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98 Minn. L. Rev. Headnotes 1 (2013-2014)

handle is hein.journals/headnotpan98 and id is 1 raw text is: Essay When Too Little Is Too Much: Why the Supreme Court Should Either Explain Its Opinions or Keep Them to Itself Jonah J. Horwitz' In 1972, the Supreme Court released what appears on its face to be one of the simplest opinions in its history. That deci- sion, Baker v. Nelson,' read, in its entirety: The appeal is dis- missed for want of a substantial federal question. That's it. Eleven straightforward words. But, as is often the case in the law, great complexity lurks under the surface, for this terse or- der has been cited by no fewer than sixty-two judicial opinions and 314 secondary sources. Even more amazingly, Baker has come to assume a prominent place in the debate over gay mar- riage, one of the most controversial legal battles of our era. This is so because the decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court un- der review in that case held that same sex marriage was not protected by the Constitution.2 Consequently, the U.S. Su- preme Court's cursory order could be read as an acknowledg- ment that bans on same sex marriage are constitutionally per- missible.' For these reasons, the order is discussed at length in the Second Circuit's opinion in Windsor v. United States, the vehicle for the Supreme Court's landmark judgment on the De- fense of Marriage Act.5 t BA with honors, 2006, Swarthmore College. JD cum laude, Order of the Coif, 2010, Northwestern University School of Law. The author is current- ly clerking for a judge on the United States Court of Appeals. He can be con- tacted at horwitz.jonah@gmail.com. Copyright @ 2013 by Jonah J. Horwitz. 1. 409 U.S. 810 (1972). 2. Baker v. Nelson, 191 N.W.2d 185 (Minn. 1971). 3. See, e.g., Massachusetts v. U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs., 682 F.3d 1, 8 (1st Cir. 2012) (summarizing that argument), cert. denied, No. 12-97, 2013 WL 3213571 (U.S. June 27, 2013). 4. 699 F.3d 169, 178-79 (2d Cir.), affd, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013). 5. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675. 1

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