Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Southeast Alum takes part in historic Supreme Court Hearing

Thursday, April 30, 2015

At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 28, the Supreme Court of the United States met to hear arguments in what is sure to be known as one of the most influential cases in the United States since Roe v. Wade. Obergefell v. Hodges will be the case that decides if same-sex marriage becomes recognized in all 50 states, and a Southeast Missouri State University alumnus was one of only 50 members of the public allowed to sit in on the historical proceedings.

Maddock speaking with Greg Bourke who was a lead plaintiff in Tuesdays case. Submitted photo by Lorie Shaull

Nick Maddock, who graduated from Southeast in May of 2014, is a financial analyst for Capital One who lives in Washington, D.C.

Maddock's presence at the Supreme Court began days before the actual case itself as he spent five days in line in order to receive a ticket.

"I had planned to go about five days before since they only have 50 tickets," Maddock said. "But then I heard that they were not allowing us to have tents out there, so I didn't want to do it if I couldn't have a tent."

However, Maddock said when he had heard of protests taking place at the steps of the Supreme Court, he decided to walk down to the area to see what was taking place. Once he saw individuals camped outside and spoke with them, he changed his mind and at that very moment took a place in line.

Maddock was number 47 in line and he knew none of the individuals alongside him. However, he said that after spending more than four days with them he created relationships that he feels will last beyond the case.

"I am still talking to all of them and text them and they are absolutely amazing people," Maddock said. "And even if I didn't get in the courtroom, just the experience of being with those individuals for five days supporting this cause literally would have still left me happy. And a lot of people keep asking me why I did it and I say 'Why not?' Find your passion and do it and don't worry about the consequences."

Maddock described his experience camping outside of the Supreme Court. He recounted the massive amounts of media that were in attendance who interviewed him and the other people waiting in line. Maddock said he was interviewed more than 15 times by local news outlets like the Huffington Post, The New York Times and the Associated Press.

Maddock said he initially worried about how he was going to get a meal without losing his spot but was relieved of that concern when organizations and volunteers showed up throughout the days to hand out free food.

"I have never eaten more food in my life than I did in that line," Maddock said with a laugh. "People brought cake, pizza, coffee, donuts and all types of food."

He and others in line even sent out a tweet to a marriage equality group in California which then responded by ordering pizzas for them to eat.

Maddock said that while the atmosphere was mostly positive, there were protests taking place that were not as positive. Many people shouted homophobic language and other insults to people in line. However, he said that one group, while differing in opinion from him, protested in a more respectful manner.

"There was a National Organization for Marriage march where they had about 3,000 protesters come and march in front of the Supreme Court," Maddock said. "They weren't hateful but still had some words for us, but they actually began to tear down the signs of the hateful protesters who had these really nasty signs and who were trying to get to the front of the podium and said 'We don't support this and this is not the view we are trying to portray and these people are not a part of our rally.' So I thought that it was cool that, even though they didn't support what we thought, they did not support the really hateful rhetoric."

When Tuesday finally arrived, Maddock went into the Supreme Court at 9 a.m. where he and others were given an hour to get breakfast. While he was there Maddock said he was among various politicians and political figures including Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the President of the United States, and Mark Herring, attorney general of Virginia.

The case began and Maddock said there were about 300 people in the room, and about 30 minutes into the case an outburst by a protester sitting next to Maddock took place.

"He was actually somebody who was in the line with us the entire time outside," Maddock said. "He started screaming 'homosexuality is an abomination' and things and he was sitting right next to me. You could still hear him screaming like five minutes after he was escorted away."

The case continued on and Maddock said that it was surreal to be present during that time. While he was amazed to be in the courtroom, his favorite part of the entire experience was once the court adjourned.

"The best moment of the entire experience was after the court adjourned and they had us walk out of the courtroom," Maddock said. "We walked out of the front doors of the Supreme Court and when I walked out of the doors I didn't expect what I saw which was thousands of pro equality supporters who were cheering and chanting. That will probably go down as one of the most memorable experiences of my life."

A decision in Obergefell v. Hodges is expected to be made sometime in June and Maddock said that he feels that a ruling will be made in favor of same-sex marriage.

Nick Maddock standing in front of the Supreme Court waiting in line. Submitted photo.

"As someone who is very passionate about this issue it just made sense for me to be there," Maddock, who has been an advocate for the LGBTQ community since his time at Southeast, said. "I am confident of a victory."

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