Prop 8 Trial Moves to Next Stage
The New York Times reports:
SAN FRANCISCO — It has been more than two years since voters outlawed Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/same_sex_marriage/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier">same-sex marriage with a ballot initiative in California, and it may be two more before the legality of that measure — Proposition 8 — is finally decided, most likely by the Supreme Court.
On Monday, however, the two sides in the debate will lock horns at the highest legal level yet, when a federal challenge to the law filed by two gay couples is heard by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.
But the lawyers involved expect few surprises when it comes to arguments.
“A lot of the stuff is going to be repeated,” said Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group that has helped defend Proposition 8. “But what I hope is that it will not be the one-sided presentation of the facts the district court had in its opinion.”
That opinion was issued in August by Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who said that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional and in violation of the principles of due process and equal protection. The measure has remained in effect as the higher appellate court considers it.
The hearing on Monday will unfold in two parts and cover two issues. The first is the question of legal standing: the major defendants in the case — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown — have opted not to defend the measure, leaving the defense to groups like Mr. Lorence’s.
Mr. Brown was elected governor last month, meaning the state’s next chief executive will not support the ban. David Boies, the veteran Washington lawyer challenging the measure, said that proponents would need to prove that their lives were being directly, and substantially, harmed by Judge Walker’s decision in order to prove their standing.
“It’s not enough that you have a policy disagreement,” Mr. Boies said.
