ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – The state’s highest court Thursday declined to hear two cases contesting the state law that bars same-sex couples from getting married.

The Court of Appeals ruled it does not have the jurisdiction to hear the cases before they first go to a lower appellate court.

In February, state Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan ruled the state law is unconstitutional, finding in favor of five same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses by New York City. The judge said the city clerk may not deny a license to any couple solely because the two are of the same sex.

The city is appealing the judge’s ruling. It filed to skip the appellate level court and have the case heard by the Court of Appeals. The couples in the case also wanted to skip the intermediate court.

The Court of Appeals, however, hears cases directly from the trial-level court when there is only a question of a law’s constitutionality. Since other issues are also involved in the case, the panel sent it back to the lower appellate court.

“The Court of Appeals decision not to review this case without an intermediate court ruling … unfortunately will not give the gay and lesbian community clarity on this important issue as quickly as I had hoped,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who supports gay marriage.

Susan Sommer, a senior counsel for Lambda Legal which filed one of the lawsuits, said she was “disappointed that it will take more time to resolve this case.”

Another case out of Albany also challenged the state law, but the statute was upheld by the trial court. The plaintiffs in that case also tried to have the case heard directly by the Court of Appeals, but were denied.