Divorce sought from same-sex partner

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - A Santa Fe woman is seeking a divorce from her partner — but her partner says they were never married since they're both women and same-sex marriage is not legal in New Mexico.

Angela Carrejo filed for divorce in June 2009 from JaNelle Haught, saying "a state of incompatibility" exists and there's no hope of reconciliation.

The women were among 66 same-sex couples who received marriage licenses in New Mexico's Sandoval County more than six years ago.

Then-County Clerk Victoria Dunlap started issuing the licenses on Feb. 20, 2004, but stopped later that day after the state attorney general advised such licenses were illegal.

State District Judge Sarah Singleton on Monday will hear a motion from Haught to dismiss the divorce petition.

Carrejo, 52, has asked the judge to reject that motion. She wants the court to divide the property the pair acquired during the marriage, a Santa Fe home and nearly 12-acre ranch in Rio Arriba County, and to order Haught, 43, to pay spousal support.

Haught's motion for summary judgment asks the judge to dismiss the petition on the grounds "the purported marriage ... was void" from the start. Therefore, Carrejo has no right to community property or spousal support, she argues.

Haught, an attorney, said her motion speaks for itself and she had no further comment.

Carrejo's attorney, Amber Train of Santa Fe, said it would be more advantageous under New Mexico's community property laws if the split is treated as a divorce. That also would support the claim for spousal support, she said.

Carrejo "certainly believes the marriage is valid and should proceed as a proper divorce proceeding," Train said.

Train called it an important case — an issue of first impression in New Mexico that raises legal issues not heard before in the state.

"It's an opportunity for the court to adjudicate whether marriage between same-sex couples is a right protected under either the New Mexico Constitution or the federal constitution," particularly in light of a federal judge's ruling Wednesday to overturn California's Proposition 8, which restricts marriage to one man and one woman, she said.

Haught's court filings said she and Carrejo received a license and participated in a marriage ceremony, but that both of them "knew well that the Sandoval County clerk was attempting to shape the law with her own hands and that their attempt at marriage would not be recognized under the laws of the state."

Her filings repeatedly cite the attorney general's conclusion that New Mexico law does not allow same-sex marriage.

Carrejo and Haught separated in October 2008. Haught filed a restraining order against Carrejo in June 2009.