Supreme Court poised to enter battle over same-sex marriage  The
Supreme Court is expected to announce within days that it will
consider whether same-sex marriage deserves equal treatment
under federal law.   The justices will meet behind closed doors
Friday to weigh a slew of appeals in same-sex marriage cases.
Observers predict the justices will take up at least one of them
— most likely a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA).   “Obviously, they have to take one of the DOMA cases,”
said Michael Carvin, a partner at the law firm Jones Day and a
former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas.  Congress passed DOMA
in 1996 to define marriage as a union between one man and one
woman. The law prohibits states from providing certain benefits
to same-sex couples, even when those states recognize gay
marriage.  The Supreme Court is more likely to take cases in
which courts have struck down a federal law, and two federal
appeals courts have ruled DOMA unconstitutional.  A decision
overturning DOMA would be a sig