U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Transsexual's Claim

[KANSAS CITY, KS] - Avoiding the same-sex marriage debate, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected transsexual J 'Noel Gardiner's claim to half of her late husband's $2.5 million estate.

The high court turned away her appeal on the first of the new Supreme Court term. The decision ends a four-year battle over the estate of Marshall Gardiner between the Leavenworth man's only son, Joe Gardiner, and J 'Noel Gardiner.

The decision upholds a unanimous March ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court that J'Noel is a man under Kansas law and therefore not entitled to share in the estate of her late husband.

Marshall Gardiner was a widower and former stockbroker. He was 85 when he met 40-year-old J 'Noel Ball, an assistant professor of finance at Park University, in 1998. The two married in September that year.

Marshall Gardiner died without a will in August 1999. Under Kansas law, half of the estate goes to the spouse and half to the other heirs. Joe Gardiner argued that he should have the entire estate because J'Noel Gardiner remained a man under Kansas law and the state does not recognize same-sex unions.