Facts of the Case
On 18 May 1970, activists James Michael McConnell, librarian, and Richard John Baker, law student on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota , applied for a marriage license in Minneapolis . Gerald Nelson, Clerk of District Court in Hennepin County , denied the request on the sole ground that the two were of the same sex. The couple filed suit in district court to force Nelson to issue the license.
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Conclusions
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In his " Motion to Dismiss Appeal and Brief", the Hennepin County Attorney argued that the marriage license issued previously made this case moot . On October 10, 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court responded with a one-sentence order: "The appeal is dismissed for want of a substantial federal question."
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