 On May 18, 2012, the court published a unanimous ruling in "Port v. Cowan" that validated the marriage of Jessica Port and Virginia Cowan because it said "no viable decision by the Court had deemed a valid foreign marriage to be 'repugnant'," even if the marriage was void or punishable as a crime were it performed in Maryland.The opinion cited conflicts that arose from decisions in Anne Arundel and St. Mary's counties where two same-sex couples had their petitions for divorce granted, and another case in Baltimore City where it was denied.The decision of the court was based on the state's traditional use of the common law doctrine of comity, which specifies that Maryland "will give effect to laws and judicial decisions of another state or jurisdiction, not as a matter of obligation but out of deference and respect."