State of Alaska and Municipality of Anchorage, Appellants v. Julie A. Schmidt, Gayle Schuh, Julie M. Vollick, Susan…

Summary

The court held that Alaska's senior-citizen and disabled-veteran property-tax exemption facially discriminates against same-sex couples because they cannot marry and therefore cannot obtain the exemption's full benefit on the same terms as opposite-sex couples. Applying minimum scrutiny, the court concluded that the asserted interests in cost control, administrative efficiency, and promoting marriage did not substantially relate to the marital classification. The court nevertheless rejected the claim of the third couple because the eligible senior citizen had no ownership interest in the residence, and it vacated the attorney-fee award for further proceedings. Justice Winfree, concurring, agreed with the result but questioned whether the dispute could have been resolved through a different statutory interpretation concerning undivided possession and the extent of the exemption.