DOJ files brief defending constitutionality of Defense of Marriage Act

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] on Thursday filed a brief [text, PDF] with the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit defending the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [text; JURIST news archive]. The appeal follows a July ruling [JURIST report] by the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts which found that Section 3 of DOMA, which defines marriages as being between a man and a woman, violates…