The Supreme Court temporarily blocked gay marriage in Nevada due to clerical error

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked gay marriage in Nevada due to clerical error
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Supreme Court explained Thursday that it accidentally placed a hold on same-sex marriage in Nevada one day prior due to confounding paperwork.

On Tuesday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down gay marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada. Idaho appealed the ruling — but Nevada said it would go ahead and begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

Confusion arose though when Idaho's petition to the high court included case numbers from both states. And that, court spokesperson Kathy Arberg told The Associated Press, led Justice Anthony Kennedy on Wednesday to mistakenly put on hold same-sex marriage in both states.

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Kennedy later removed his hold on same-sex marriage in Nevada, but left it in place for Idaho.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.