有一年做pro bono时曾出庭为一对本州同性恋“夫妇”做过辩护，所以对美国在同性婚姻立法方面的争论与进展一直很关注。下面这则新闻故事应该为同性婚姻合法化的倡议者提供一个很有趣的依据。大多数同性生活的法律问题只涉及民法（子女收养、归属、探视；财产分割、继承；医疗社保福利；Torts等），象这类刑事案并不多。但它却很尖锐地反映了婚姻关系中的一些本质问题。美国人常说“难案出坏法”(Hard cases make bad law），所以许多法律问题的进化、升华及最终突破往往都是来自于这类很简单、很不起眼的小案裁决的积累，以及对每一案中某一两个有趣法律问题对话与讨论。



Gay man asks judge for spousal protection

Friday, November 25, 2005; Posted: 3:32 p.m. EST (20:32 GMT)

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NEW YORK (AP) -- A gay man charged with helping his lover loot a wealthy school district has asked a judge to rule that state law protecting spouses from having to testify against each other also applies to same-sex partners.

Stephen Signorelli, fighting charges that he stole at least $219,000 from the Roslyn, New York, school district, is seeking to bar testimony by his longtime companion, Frank Tassone, the district's former superintendent.

Auditors say that in all, $11.2 million was taken from the Long Island district, and state Comptroller Alan Hevesi has called the case "the largest, most remarkable, most extraordinary theft" from a school system in American history.

Tassone pleaded guilty this year to stealing $1 million between 1996 and 2002. As part of his plea bargain, he agreed to testify against other defendants in the case, which meant he might have to take the stand in Signorelli's trial.

In a motion filed before a judge in Nassau County, Signorelli sought to bar such an appearance, saying he and Tassone deserved the same protection as a heterosexual couple.

"Mr. Tassone and I have been loving partners for 33 years," Signorelli said in an affidavit, adding that the two had participated in "a solemn religious ceremony" conducted while they were on a Caribbean cruise, "to memorialize our relationship and love for one another."

The two also registered as domestic partners in New York City, where they live, in 2002.

"It's our position that the statute should be read gender-neutral," Signorelli's attorney, Kenneth Weinstein, told Newsday. "If a heterosexual couple can assert marital privilege, then a homosexual couple should be able to do the same."

Signorelli is charged with helping in the theft of at least $219,000 by submitting phony and padded invoices for the printing of school handbooks.

Weinstein and an attorney for Tassone did not immediately return phone messages left at their offices Friday.

Prosecutors have yet to respond to the motion and Judge Alan Honorof has not indicated how he might rule.

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