Arkansas' highest court will hear oral arguments in a case challenging the state's gay marriage ban on the same day a federal judge takes up a separate case over the prohibition.
The state Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to expedite the case and scheduled oral arguments for Nov. 20 in the state's appeal of a lower court's ruling against the ban.
Lawyers for the state are appealing a Pulaski County judge's ruling in May striking down a 2004 constitutional amendment and an earlier state law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. The decision led to hundreds of gay couples being wed before the state Supreme Court suspended his ruling.
A federal judge will also hold a hearing in a separate lawsuit over the ban Nov. 20.
This story has been updated.
