Prop. 8 Supporters May Lack "Legal Standing" To Appeal
In an interesting development, it is being reported that the supporters of Proposition 8 may lack "legal standing" to appeal the decision that the law is unconstitutional since the supporters of Prop 8 are not actually harmed by gay marriages occurring:
Reporting from San Francisco —U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker on Thursday kept same-sex marriages on hold in California for at least another week, but suggested that top state officials' support for gay marriage ultimately may doom any effort to revive Proposition 8.
Walker's comments were the first public airing of a possibility that has been increasingly under discussion by legal experts — that the fight over the constitutionality of Proposition 8 might not be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, as many have expected. Instead the case could be brought to an end by the strict legal rules about who is allowed to pursue a dispute in federal court.
Walker's remarks came in a ruling that would allow same-sex marriages to resume in the state after Aug. 18 unless an appeals court puts them on hold longer.
Last week, Walker declared Proposition 8's ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional, saying it violated the gay men and lesbians' right to equal protection and due process.
The defendants in that case were Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, but they declined to defend the law. As the losing parties, they have authority to appeal Walker's ruling. But both Brown and Schwarzenegger hailed Walker's decision and said they would not appeal.
"The governor supports the judge's ruling," spokesman Aaron McLear said Thursday.
A private group that opposes same-sex marriage, ProtectMarriage.com, defended Proposition 8 during the trial Walker held earlier this year. The group wants to appeal but may lack legal standing to do so.
To have standing in federal court, a party must show that it has suffered an actual injury, and Walker said no evidence suggests that the campaign would meet that test.
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