- Historic Trial Starts This Week
The federal trial over California’s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage in the state, begins today in San Francisco federal court before U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker. As the L.A. Times story notes, unlike other gay-marriage disputes, this will be the first to involve witness testimony on a wide range of contentious issues related to “the nature of marriage and homosexuality.” Challengers contend that the Prop. 8 ban violates federal equal-protection and due-process guarantees.
The litigation, Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, has drawn a lot of attention for the legal advocates involved. David Boies and Ted Olson – who opposed each other in the Bush v. Gore election dispute – have teamed up to represent challengers of the ban. Boies said in the story that he expects the case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011. Speaking of the high court, the justices ruled early Monday that Judge Walker could not allow video coverage of the trial on YouTube. Attorneys for Prop. 8 supporters, in an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, argued that their witnesses would be subjected to harassment.
Gay rights groups have tended to oppose the filing of the lawsuit, fearing a loss before the Supreme Court. Gov. Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown declined to defend the ballot measure, forcing Prop. 8 supporters to intervene and defend the ban. Attorney Andy Pugno will be the lead lawyer for Protect Marriage, a group of organizations opposed to gay marriage.
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| 09:23 AM Jan 11, 2010 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
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