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Justice Dept to File SCOTUS Brief Opposing Proposition 8

This is fantastic. Obama Administration will submit an amicus brief to the Supreme Court opposing Proposition 8, reports NBC News.

After first suggesting it would not get involved, the Obama administration will file a friend-of-the-court brief late today in support of the two gay couples who launched the fight over the issue four years ago, the officials said. Today is the last day for filing briefs in support of the couples' position.

The administration last year signaled it might stay on the sidelines. In May, when President Obama first said that "same-sex couples should be able to get married," he added that it was not a matter for the federal government. But he appeared to express a different view in January during his inaugural address when he said, "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."

The Supreme Court announced in December that it would hear the federal challenge to California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban passed in November 2008. The court will also hear a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. Oral arguments begin in March.

Apple, Facebook, Nike to Join 200+ Companies Opposing DOMA/Prop 8

More than 200 of the nation's leading publicly traded companies are joining two separate actions to oppose Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act at the Supreme Court, reports Bloomberg.

Apple Inc and Morgan Stanley [lead] the corporate group [which] includes Facebook and Intel. [It] will argue in its brief that gay-marriage bans in 41 states harm workplace morale and undermine recruiting.

The publicly traded companies backing gay marriage include Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Alcoa Inc., American International Group Inc, EBay Inc., Marsh & McLennan Cos., NCR Corp., Nike Inc, Oracle Corp, Office Depot Inc., Panasonic Corp., Xerox Corp., Barnes & Noble and Caesars Entertainment Corp.

A larger group of companies -- more than 200, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) -- is also poised to side with gay- rights advocates in a second Supreme Court case, involving a federal law that defines marriage as a heterosexual union. Under that law, known as the Defense of Marriage Act, legally married gay couples can’t claim the federal tax breaks and other benefits available to opposite-sex spouses. The companies in that case are part of a collection of more than 250 employers, including cities, counties and law firms.

Meanwhile: More than 100 lawmakers, politicians and former Republican leaders have now signed on to the Republican SCOTUS brief opposing Prop 8, reports the New York Times.

The list of Republicans on the brief now tallies more than 100, organizers say. It now includes Beth Myers, who ran Mr. Romney’s 2008 campaign and was a senior adviser to him in 2012. The brief, organized by Ken Mehlman, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee who is gay, will be filed on Thursday as a friend-of-the-court, or amicus, brief to a lawsuit that seeks to overturn Proposition 8.

Towleroad published a list on Tuesday of the Republican signatories so far. The list includes Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, former Reagan budget director David Stockman, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, former California Rep. Mary Bono Mack ... and Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, the former California Republican gubernatorial nominee who infamously supported Proposition 8 and vowed to defend it in court.

Supreme Court to Review Prop 8 and Defense of Marriage Act

The Supreme Court has announced that it will hear the federal challenge to California's voter-approved same-sex marriage ban. This will be the first time the high court has heard a marriage equality case. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Vaughn Walker's landmark 2010 decision striking down Proposition 8 as unconstitutional. Any favorable ruling is expected to be narrow and limited to California.

The court will also hear one of several challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA  Section Three prohibits federal recognition of legallly married same-sex couples and denies all federal benefits, such as Social Security, penion benefits, prefential tax treatment and health care.

Prop 8 Ruled Unconstitutional

10-16696 #398_Decision

Bravo! The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the landmark ruling by Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker that found California's voter approved same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.

The 2-1 decision in Perry v Brown found Proposition 8 violated the U.S. Constitution. "Proposition 8 served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California," said the court.

"The ruling is narrow and likely to be limited to California,"  adds the Los Angeles Times.

In a separate decision, the appeals court refused to invalidate Walker’s ruling on the grounds that he should have disclosed he was in a long term same-sex relationship. Walker, a Republican appointee who is openly gay, said after his ruling that he had been in a relationship with another man for 10 years. He has never said whether he and partner wished to marry.

ProtectMarriage, the backers of Proposition 8, can appeal Tuesday's decision to a larger panel of the 9th Circuit or go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court is expected to be divided on the issue, and many legal scholars believe Justice Anthony Kennedy will be the deciding vote.

The backers of the 2008 initiative have vowed to appeal the case.

Walker's August 2010 ruling came almost two years after California voters approved the same-sex marriage ban in a heartbreaing November 2008 initiative. Former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-Attorney General Jerry Brown refused to appeal Judge Walker's decision. Newly inaugurated Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris also refused to defend the ballot measure.

On January 2011, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals punted the appeal of the landmark ruling to the California Supreme Court. Last November, the California Supremes ruled that anti-gay activists had "standing" to defend the ban.

It's a great day for equality.

Prop 8 Ruling Expected Today

More than three years after California voters approved a ban on marriage equality, a federal appeals court will finally decide today whether Proposition 8 violates Constitution. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals announces a ruling is expected by 10A PT/1P ET.

Fasten your seat belts, folks!

CA Supreme Court Rules Prop 8 Supporters Have Standing to Appeal

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As expected, California's Supreme Court has paved the way for marriage equality opponents to defend the state's voter-approved same-sex marriage ban in federal court. The state constitution gives the groups "standing" to defend Proposition 8, the justices ruled a unanimous decision.

Via Jeremy Hooper, from the ruling posted above:

We respond to the question posed by the Ninth Circuit in the affirmative. In a postelection challenge to a voter-approved initiative measure, the official proponents of the initiative are authorized under California law to appear and assert the state‘s interest in the initiative‘s validity and to appeal a judgment invalidating the measure when the public officials who ordinarily defend the measure or appeal such a judgment decline to do so.

On January 4, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals punted the appeal of the landmark Prop 8 ruling to the California Supreme Court. The California Supreme Court first had to decide if Prop 8's sponsors could defend the ban.

The Los Angeles Times adds:

The state high court’s decision, a defeat for gay rights groups,  sets the stage for a federal ruling—which could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court—that would affect marriage bans outside California. .... Although the 9th Circuit is not bound by Thursday’s ruling, the decision makes it less likely that the appeals court would decide Proposition 8’s future on narrow, standing grounds."

To be continued ...

CALIFORNIA: Same-Sex Marriages Remain on Hold for Prop 8 Appeal

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a motion seeking to allow same-sex marriages to proceed  in California while the legal challenge to Proposition 8 continues. In a one-sentence order, the three judge panel said they had reviewed the arguments and "we deny plaintiffs' motion at this time." 

On February 23, the plaintiffs in the landmark federal challenge to Proposition 8 filed a motion requesting that same-sex marriages be allowed to resume immediately. That was the same day the Obama Administration announced it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court challenges. 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering the constitutionality of the voter-approved marriage ban. But first the California Supreme Court must decide if Prop 8's sponsors can defend the ban.

ALERT: Prop 8 Plaintiffs Ask Court to Lift Stay on Gay Marriages in CA

Some developing news from California  ...

The plaintiffs in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the landmark federal challenge to Proposition 8, have filed a motion with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals requesting that same-sex marriages be allowed to resume immediately. The "Motion to Vacate Stay Pending Appeal" argues the court's "stay can no longer be justified ..."

The American Foundation for Equal Rights announced:

The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and its legal team — led by Theodore B. Olson and David Boies — filed a motion with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asking that the Court immediately lift an order preventing gay and lesbian couples from marrying in California. That order, issued in August 2010, stayed the injunction issued by the U.S. District Court that barred further enforcement of Proposition 8.

This comes on the heels of a request last Thursday by AFER to the California Supreme Court to expedite the hearing of questions relating to the standing of Proponents to maintain an appeal in federal court. AFER’s attorneys urged the California Supreme Court to hear arguments in May, rather than September.

"We are respectfully asking the Court to lift its stay on marriage for gay and lesbian couples because it has become apparent that the legal process is taking considerably longer than could reasonably have been anticipated," said Theodore B. Olson, co-lead counsel for AFER. "It’s important to remember that the stay was originally ordered with the understanding that the Ninth Circuit would rule swiftly on the case before it. Now that the issue of the Proponents’ standing to appeal has been referred for analysis by the California Supreme Court, substantial additional, indefinite and unanticipated delays lie ahead. It’s unreasonable and decidedly unjust to expect California’s gay and lesbian couples to put their lives on hold and suffer daily discrimination as second class citizens while their U.S. District Court victory is debated further."

The stay was ordered August 16 2010.

AFER also asks the California Supreme Court to expedite its timeline to rule on "standing", which it agreed to do one week ago.

Civil rights icon Julian Bond, who sits on AFER's advisory board, added that the stay is "delaying basic civil rights which is adversely affecting tens of thousands of Californian couples and families in a real way, on a daily basis. It’s simply not acceptable to continue state-sanctioned discrimination and second-class citizenship. Equality delayed is equality denied." 

9th Circuit Motion HERE (PDF).
California Supreme Court petition HERE (PDF).

California Supreme Court to Review Key Prop 8 Request Today

This morning some developing news from California on Proposition 8 ...

On January 4, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals punted the appeal of the landmark Prop 8 ruling to the California Supreme Court. You'll recall the federal court "certified" a request to the California Supreme Court on the question of "standing"—asking if the supporters of the voter-approved marriage ban can defend the measure in court when state officials refuse to do so.

The California Supreme Court will consider this key question today, reports the L.A. Times.

 The state high court, meeting in closed session, will review a request by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether Proposition 8’s sponsors have legal authority to defend the ballot measure. Depending on the court’s ruling, the 9th Circuit could either dismiss the Proposition 8 appeal on procedural grounds -- limiting the case’s effect to California -- or rule on federal constitutional questions that would affect same-sex marriage throughout the country.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-Attorney General Jerry Brown refused to appeal Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker's August 2010 decision striking down the ban as unconstitutional. Newly inaugurated Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris also refuse to defend the ballot measure.

9th Circuit Asks CA Supremes for Ruling Re: "Standing" on Prop 8

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has punted the appeal of the landmark ruling on Prop 8 to the California Supreme Court.

The three-judge panel has asked the California Supreme Court to rule on the question of "standing"—can the supporters of voter-approved marriage ban defend the measure in court when state officials refuse to do so. The question is key to the future of Proposition 8. You'll recall former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-Attorney General Jerry Brown refused to appeal Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker's decision striking down the ban as unconstitutional. Newly inaugurated Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris also refuse to defend the ballot measure.

In a separate order, the court ruled that conservative Imperial County—which overwhelmingly voted for Proposition 8—lacked standing to appeal the decision.

Posting the certs ASAP ...