In a tax refund suit, in which plaintiff challenged the determination that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) barred her from claiming the federal estate tax exemption for surviving spouses, which defines marriage and spouse as excluding same-sex partners, the Second Circuit's ruling that section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional and order that the U.S. Treasury refund plaintiff's tax with interest is affirmed, where: 1) the Court has jurisdiction to consider the merits of the case; and 2) DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.