PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The Rhode Island Supreme Court said Wednesday that it needs more information about a same-sex couple’s marriage before it can decide whether a state court has jurisdiction over what’s believed to be the state’s first same-sex divorce case.

The case could present a legal conundrum in Rhode Island, where the law is silent on the validity of same-sex marriage, but where couples can drive across the border and get one.

Margaret Chambers and Cassandra Ormiston of Providence were married in Fall River, Mass., after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2003. The couple filed for divorce in Rhode Island Family Court last year, citing irreconcilable differences.

Family Court Chief Judge Jeremiah Jr. asked the high court to weigh in on whether Rhode Island judges can rule on same-sex divorce cases, but the court on Wednesday returned the case to him, saying he must answer a series of questions first.

Among other questions, the court said it wants to know whether the couple had a valid marriage license, where they lived when it was issued and whether Chambers, the plaintiff, has resided in Rhode Island long enough to file for divorce there.

Louis Pulner, an attorney for Chambers, said his client filed for divorce in Rhode Island because the couple never lived in Massachusetts and can’t bring a divorce case there. He said the Supreme Court’s questions indicate it wants to make sure the divorce case is legitimate and not being advanced as a test case for legalizing same-sex marriage in Rhode Island.

Ormiston’s lawyer, Nancy Palmisciano, said she was hesitant to read anything into the court’s questions, but said she was glad it was handling the case quickly.

Both lawyers have said that even if the Supreme Court allows the divorce case to proceed, that decision would not necessarily legalize same-sex marriage in Rhode Island.