Elsewhere: Chron Judge sets January trial for Prop. 8 lawsuit
5:19 PM: A federal judge in San Francisco today set a January trial date for a challenge to California’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies filed a federal lawsuit in May on behalf of a lesbian couple from Berkeley and a gay couple from Burbank challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8.
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said today the trial will begin Jan. 11, and also ruled that the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office will be allowed to join the lawsuit on the side of the plaintiffs.
Walker rejected a motion by three gay rights groups to also join the plaintiffs, and denied a motion by the Campaign for California Families to join the defense in support of Proposition 8.
The groups Our Family Coalition, Lavender Seniors of the East Bay, and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays failed to show that their interests were not already “adequately represented” by the current plaintiffs, and could introduce delays and complications in the case, Walker ruled. Walker said the Campaign for California Families was not the official sponsor of Proposition 8 and represented “broader interests” than simply upholding the proposition.
The parties will be permitted to submit advisory friend-of-the-court briefs, but will not be able to have a say in the management of the case.
Walker ruled that the city and county of San Francisco represented “a somewhat different circumstance” by arguing that the city’s financial interests had been “adversely affected by Proposition 8.” He said the jurisdiction had “an independent interest” that could add evidence in the case “without materially delaying the proceedings.”
“We’re very gratified by the court’s ruling,” City Attorney Dennis Herrera said after today’s hearing.
Herrera said San Francisco has a “unique perspective” and “a long history of being involved in these issues.” He said the denial of same-sex marriage rights has had impacts on tourism and on public health, because same-sex couples aren’t afforded the same health benefits as spouses.
“We suffer as a result of the discriminatory treatment that gays and lesbians suffer” in California right now, Herrera said.
Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment approved by 52 percent of California voters in November, overturned a ruling in which the state Supreme Court said in May 2008 that the constitution provides a right to same-sex marriage. In a separate decision upholding Proposition 8 in May of this year, the state Supreme Court said it is within voters’ power to amend the constitution as outlined in the initiative.
The court left in place about 18,000 same-sex marriages that were performed in California before the Nov. 4 election.
Boies and Olson, who argued on opposite sides of the Bush v. Gore case that decided the 2000 presidential election, filed the federal lawsuit four days before the California Supreme Court’s decision this May.
“This is a matter of fundamental human rights, and human decency, and government treatment of our citizens equally,” Olson said after today’s hearing.
Boies said he expected the trial to last “a matter of weeks, and not months.”
Charles Cooper, an attorney representing the sponsors of Proposition 8, said today that “the fundamental issue in this case is whether the people of California have the right to define marriage as they did in Proposition 8,” or whether the matter will be decided by the courts.
Cooper said it is their belief that “the people have the right to define marriage as between one man and one woman.”
“The courtroom is not the place to make social policy change,” added Andrew Pugno, a lawyer for the ProtectMarriage.com campaign committee for Proposition 8. “The people have already made their decision,” he said.
1:28 PM: A federal judge in San Francisco today set a January trial date for a challenge of California’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies filed a federal lawsuit in May on behalf of a lesbian couple from Berkeley and a gay couple from Burbank challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8.
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said today the trial will begin Jan. 11, and also ruled that the city of San Francisco will be allowed to join the lawsuit on the side of the plaintiffs. Walker rejected a motion by three gay rights groups to also join the plaintiffs, and denied a motion by the Campaign for California Families to join the defense in support of Proposition 8.
The parties will be permitted to submit advisory friend-of-the-court briefs, but will not be able to have a say in the management of the case.
Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment approved by California voters in November, overturned a ruling in which the state Supreme Court said in May 2008 that the constitution provides a right to same-sex marriage. In a separate decision upholding Proposition 8 in May of this year, the state Supreme Court said it is within voters’ power to amend the constitution as outlined in the initiative.
But the court left in place about 18,000 same-sex marriages that were performed in California before the Nov. 4 election.
Boies and Olson, who argued on opposite sides of the Bush v. Gore case that decided the 2000 presidential election, filed the federal lawsuit four days before the California Supreme Court’s decision.
The suit was the first in California to seek a right to same-sex marriage under the federal rather than the state constitution.
