grassleysotomayorSupreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was questioned on Wednesday about marriage case law in Minnesota. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pressed Sotomayor about same-sex marriage precedent — without actually mentioning gays or marriage — by using Baker v. Nelson, a 1971 ruling by the Minnesota Supreme outlawing same-sex marriage in Minnesota. It was the first court challenge relating to same-sex marriage in U.S. history.

Asked Grassley, “Are you saying to me that Baker v. Nelson is not a precedent? Because I assume if it is precedent, based on everything you told us yesterday, you are going to follow it.”

“No sir, I just haven’t reviewed Baker in a while,” Sotomayor replied. “It’s not that I’m attempting to not answer your question, Sen. Grassley.”

“Why are you hedging on this?” Grassley pressed.

Sotomayor responded, “It’s been a while since I looked at that case.”

She told Grassley that she couldn’t make a determination about what precedent the Baker case would have on future cases coming before that Supreme Court without going back to review it. Same-sex marriage is likely to hit the court within the next year.

She promised to review the case and return on Thursday.

In 1970, two gay University of Minnesota students, Jack Baker and James McConnell applied for a marriage license in Hennepin County District Court and were denied. They sued, and the Minnesota Supreme court denied their case saying Minnesota’s marriage law “does not offend the First, Eighth, Ninth, or Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.”

The couple took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case, but unlike some cases, the court’s denial was a binding precedent, which means the case is applicable to all lower courts.

Here is the full exchange between Grassley and Sotomayor.