The state’s highest court, which has considered the issue twice in the last three years, was drawn back into the fray by a panel of federal appeals court judges. The panel asked for guidance on the seemingly technical, but perhaps decisive, issue of who has the legal right to defend the ballot initiative on appeal, what is known in court as “standing.”

In August, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution because it deprives same-sex couples of equal protection under the law. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown declined to appeal Walker’s ruling, accepting his decision to strike down the ban.

The rules regarding who has standing have been made steadily tougher over the last several decades by conservative judges — an irony in the current case since it is conservative legal groups that are battling to establish standing. Reinhardt, who is widely considered among the most liberal judges on the 9th Circuit, noted that fact in a separate opinion expressing frustration that he and the other two 9th Circuit judges could not yet consider the substance of the case.

The “trend in our judicial system over the past few decades … emphasizes technical rules over deciding cases on the merits, and indeed over the merits themselves,” he wrote.

“Oral argument before this court was viewed on television and the Internet by more people than have ever watched an appellate court proceeding in the history of the nation,” Reinhardt wrote, urging the state high court to decide the standing issue quickly.

Separately, the appeals court panel also rejected an attempt by Imperial County officials to defend the same-sex marriage ban. Imperial County’s deputy clerk had sought to appeal Walker’s ruling. But the judges rejected that effort, saying regulation of marriage laws is a matter for the state, not individual counties.

Equality California, one of the gay rights groups that has backed Walker’s ruling, praised the appeals court’s orders.

“We are optimistic that the case will be dismissed, marriage equality restored and that same-sex couples and their families will finally enjoy equality and dignity under the law,” said the group’s executive director, Geoff Kors.

Article posted at LAtime.com on 1/5/2011. Read Full Article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0105-prop8-ruling-20110105,0,7062848.story

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request by C-SPAN to broadcast the two-hour hearing, which is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. The court said C-SPAN would provide its tape to other broadcast media that receive court permission to televise the hearing.

The 9th Circuit is hearing an appeal of an August ruling by U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who presided over a trial that examined such questions as whether homosexuality could be changed and whether same-sex parenting harmed children. Walker wanted to broadcast the trial on the Internet, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 to ban cameras on the grounds that witnesses could be intimidated during testimony.

The December hearing will involve legal arguments by lawyers, not testimony by witnesses. The 9th Circuit has said the first hour of the hearing will examine whether the sponsors of Proposition 8 and Imperial County have legal authority, or standing, to appeal Walker’s ruling.

Standing generally requires an appellant to have been directly affected by a court decision. The state has standing because it enforces Proposition 8, but Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to appeal. The second hour will be spent discussing whether the gay marriage ban violates equal protection rights.

Article from – LA Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/prop-8-hearing-on-gay-marriage-will-be-filmed-by-c-span.html

The Republican opponent Meg Whitman had pledged to try to intervene in the appeals court case that begins in December.

In unofficial returns, Brown handily defeated Whitman by a vote of 54% to 41%. Four other candidates collected the remaining votes.

“A huge sense of relief came over me when I saw the giant check mark on TV indicating Jerry Brown’s win,” said Toni Duran, a San Diego activist attending an Election Viewing Party at Eden on Tuesday night sponsored by The Center’s Young Professionals Council.

But Brown’s win dismayed two Whitman supporters at the viewing party.

“I voted for Meg Whitman,” said Brandon, a payroll manager who asked not to use his surname. “Jerry Brown was governor before and we are in the same mess now as we were then. Meg would have been more likely to get us out of the mess – the lesser of two evils.”

Matthew Guillory, a bank manager, also wanted a different outcome.

“I voted for Meg Whitman because she is a fiscal conservative,” Guillory said. “I believe we need balance between Dems and Republicans. I like what she had to say about education and am confident about her viewpoints. I am impressed with her business acumen and track record. Anyone who can run a company the size of eBay deserves kudos. She may not be LGBT friendly, but I had to balance which issues are most important to the state.”

Brown was part of a Democratic wave sweeping into top state offices. Other Democratic winners included:

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom as lieutenant governor, who beat four candidates by commanding 50% of the vote;

Debra Bowen as secretary of state with 53% of the vote in a six-candidate race;

John Chiang as controller with 55% of the vote in a six-candidate race;

Bill Lockyear as treasurer with 56% of the vote in a six-candidate race;

Dave Jones as insurance commissioner with 51% of the vote in a six-candidate race;

Tom Torlakson as superintendent of public instruction with 55% of the vote in a two-candidate race;

Attorney general race is too close to call

In a race closely watched by the state’s LGBT community, Democrat Kamala D. Harris is leading Republican Steve Cooley 46.o% to 45.7% with 99.2% of the precincts partially or fully reporting as of 10:34 a.m. today.

Harris is for marriage equality, while Cooley is against it.

If elected, Cooley has pledged to try to intervene in the Prop. 8 appeal, which begins in December. So marriage-equality supporters are on pins and needles rooting for the election of Harris.

Source: San Diego Gay and Lesbian News. SDGLN Staff Writer Ben Cartwright contributed to this report.

This puts the issue of legal standing first and foremost in anticipation of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ December hearing of the case.

In both his ruling and a subsequent order staying his ruling, Walker wrote that he doubted the proponents of Prop. 8, Protect Marriage, had standing to appeal the Perry vs. Schwarzenegger case.

“Standing requires showing of a concrete and particularized injury that is actual or imminent,” reads Walker’s Aug. 12 order. “As official proponents under California law, proponents organized the successful campaign for Proposition 8. Nevertheless, California does not grant proponents the authority or responsibility to enforce Proposition 8.”

It warrants mentioning that this “defeat” for right-wing opponents of same-sex marriage may end up being a victory in disguise. If the standing issue results in this case being thrown out and gay marriages commence in California, that’s one thing. But if the case is appealed to the federal Supreme Court — and Justice Anthony Kennedy sides with same-sex marriage advocates — then statutes banning gay marriage in 31 states would be done away with.

This article is from SFWeekly. Author Joe Eskenazi.

Los Angeles, California (CNN) — A federal judge ruled on Thursday to allow same-sex couples to marry in California, starting on August 18, handing another victory to supporters of gay rights in a case that both sides have said is likely to end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage last week, ruling that voter-approved Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution. Walker had issued a temporary stay on his decision, which on Thursday he said he would lift.

The high-profile case is being watched closely by supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage, as many say it is likely to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If it does, the case could result in a landmark decision on whether people in the United States are allowed to marry others of the same sex.

Same-sex marriage is legal in five U.S. states and in the District of Columbia, while civil unions are permitted in New Jersey. The five states are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire.

Same-sex couples in California were permitted to marry, briefly, before Proposition 8 passed in 2008.

“Today’s ruling means that in less than one week, equality under the law will be restored for millions of loving families across California,” said Rick Jacobs, founder of the Courage Campaign.

Proposition 8 is part of a long line of seesaw rulings, court cases, debates and protests over the controversial issue of same-sex marriage. Proposition 8 defines marriage as a union between a man and woman and passed in California with some 52 percent of the vote in November 2008.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have said their best bet lies with higher courts and have vowed to appeal the federal judge’s ruling. The case would head next to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before possibly going to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In his decision, Walker expressed his doubt that an appeal would be successful.

“Based on the trial record, which establishes that Proposition 8 violates plaintiffs’ equal protection and due process rights, the court cannot conclude that proponents have shown a likelihood of success on appeal,” he wrote.

People in the United States are split over the idea of allowing same-sex marriage. Forty-nine percent of respondents said they think gay and lesbian couples have the constitutional right to marry and to have their marriages recognized by law, while 51 percent say those rights do not exist, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll.

SAN FRANCISCO — In a major victory for gay rights advocates, a federal judge on Wednesday struck down a California ban on same-sex marriage.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision to overturn the voter-approved ban, known as Proposition 8, came in response to a lawsuit brought by two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco seeking to invalidate the law as an unlawful infringement on the civil rights of gay men and lesbians.

Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriages in California five months after the state Supreme Court legalized them, passed with 52 percent of the vote in November 2008 following the most expensive campaign on a social issue in U.S. history.

Attorneys on both sides have said an appeal was certain if Walker did not rule in their favor. The case would go first to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, then the Supreme Court if the high court justices agree to review it.

Anticipating such a scenario, lawyers for the coalition of religious and conservative groups that sponsored Proposition 8 in 2008 filed a legal brief Tuesday asking Walker to stay his decision if he overturns the ban so same-sex couples could not marry while an appeal was pending.

“Same-sex marriages would be licensed under a cloud of uncertainty, and should proponents succeed on appeal, any such marriages would be invalid,” they wrote.

Walker presided over a 13-day trial earlier this year that was the first in federal court to examine if states can prohibit gays from getting married without violating the constitutional guarantee of equality.

Supporters argued the ban was necessary to safeguard the traditional understanding of marriage and to encourage responsible childbearing.

Opponents said that tradition or fears of harm to heterosexual unions were legally insufficient grounds to discriminate against gay couples.

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