Littleton v. Prange
| Littleton v. Prange | |
|---|---|
| Court | Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas |
| Full case name | Christie Lee LITTLETON, Individually and as Next Heir of Jonathon Mark Littleton, Appellant, v. Dr. Mark PRANGE, Appellee. |
| Decided | October 27, 1999 |
| Citation(s) |
9 S |
| Case opinions | |
| Decision by | Phil Hardberger |
Littleton v. Prange, 9 S.W.3d 223 (1999), is a 1999 lawsuit that voided the marriage between a man and a transsexual woman, Christie Lee Littleton. The Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas ruled that, for purposes of Texas law, Littleton was considered male, and that Littleton's marriage to a man was therefore invalid because Texas law does not recognize same-sex marriage.[1][2]
Background
Christie Lee Littleton was assigned male at birth, in San Antonio, Texas in 1952. She dropped out of school at age 15 and began living as a woman. In 1977 she began taking female hormones and legally changed her name to Christie Lee Cavazos. In 1980, she completed her surgical reassignment and had her state-issued identification changed to female.[3] In the 1990s she met and married Jonathan Mark Littleton in Kentucky, later moving to San Antonio, where she worked at a salon and he worked as a window washer.
Case
After her husband's death, Christie Lee Littleton brought a medical malpractice suit against her husband's doctor, Mark Prange.[4] The defense attorney argued that the marriage was invalid because Christie Lee Littleton was a biological male. On appeal, Chief Justice Phil Hardberger relied on the fact that "Texas statutes do not allow same-sex marriages" and that "male chromosomes do not change with either hormonal treatment or sex reassignment surgery" in handing down his judgment that "Christie Littleton is a male. As a male, Christie cannot be married to another male. Her marriage to Jonathon was invalid, and she cannot bring a cause of action as his surviving spouse."[5]
The decision made it also legal for a cis woman to marry a trans woman who had undergone sex reassignment surgery and transitioned to female as long as the two partners were assigned opposite sexes at birth.[6][7]
In fiction
Littleton v. Prange is cited in the fictional 2010 Drop Dead Diva episode "Queen of Mean".[8] In the episode, lawyers for a post-operative trans woman cite the case to prove that her marriage to a cis woman, entered into before she transitioned, was valid, allowing her to inherit her deceased wife's estate.
See also
References
- ↑ Engel, David; McCann, Michael (2009-04-24). Fault Lines: Tort Law as Cultural Practice. Stanford University Press. pp. 149–. ISBN 9780804771207. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
- ↑ Littleton v. Prange, No. 99-1214 (Tex. May 18, 2000)
- ↑ Celia Kitzinger & Sue Wilkinson (2006). Genders, sexualities and equal marriage rights. Lesbian and Gay Psychology Review
- ↑ Dahir, Mubarak (October 10, 2000). Genetics vs. love. The Advocate
- ↑ Littleton v. Prange, 9 SW3d 223
- ↑ Pesquera, Adolfo (September 7, 2000). Lesbian couple get license to wed Transsexual ruling clears the way. San Antonio Express-News
- ↑ Lindell, Chuck (August 10, 2010). "Abbott declines transgender marriage question". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
- ↑ "Queen of Mean". Drop Dead Diva. Event occurs at 27:39.
GRAYSON, IN LITTLETON vs. PRANGE, Wasn't christie littleton's marriage invalidated because she was identified as a male on her birth certificate and she couldn't marry another male?
External links
- Opinion by Chief Justice Phil Hardberger, Concurring Opinion by Justice Karen Angelini, Dissenting Opinion by Justice Alma López at the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals website
- Court opinion at Google Scholar
- Story of Christie Lee Littleton, personal website