In a surprising move, the United States Trustee for California -- an agent representing the United States and the Department of Justice in Bankruptcy court -- has appealed a ruling in the United States Bankruptcy Court of the Central District of California which found Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

The June 15 ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge, Thomas Donovan, in the largest Bankruptcy Court in the country, found unconstitutional the 1996 law which bars Federal recognition of same-sex unions, even where such unions are legal. The ruling added yet another Federal court victory to a list of several such victories against the law. The ruling was in response to an intervention by the U.S. Trustee into a case in which a same-sex couple legally married in California in 2008 jointly filed for Bankruptcy.