M.T. v. J.T.
Superior Court of New Jersey
355 A.2d 204 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1976)
M.T. (plaintiff), born with male anatomy but having identified as female her entire life, underwent sex-reassignment surgery replacing her male anatomy with female anatomy, then married J.T., a man who had long known her and knew of the surgery. After the couple separated and J.T. stopped supporting her financially, M.T. sued for support, and J.T. argued the marriage was void because M.T. was legally male. At trial, M.T.'s doctor testified her post-surgical anatomy functioned as a typical female's after hysterectomy and that she could not function sexually or reproductively as a male, while J.T.'s adoptive father, also a doctor, testified that sex is determined by anatomy at birth; the trial court found M.T. was a woman for marital purposes, and J.T. appealed.
Whether, if a genuine transsexual's anatomical or genital features are made to conform to their psychological gender, identity by sex for marital purposes must be governed by that congruence between physical and psychological sex.