Same-sex couples last week prepared to head to courthouses throughout California to tie the knot, but a ruling from an appeals court put those wedding plans on hold indefinitely.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday overturned last week’s decision by District Court Judge Vaughn Walker, who declined to impose a stay on his earlier landmark ruling repealing the state’s marriage-equality ban.
Walker ruled last week that the stay would “force California to continue to violate plaintiffs’ constitutional rights and would demonstrably harm plaintiffs and other gays and lesbians in California,” but the three-judge panel of the appeals court disagreed, without explanation.
However, the court did order an expedited hearing for the appeal, and oral arguments are set to begin in December.
The case was originally filed by two same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses after California voters passed Proposition 8, overturning a previous state Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage, in November 2008.
While proponents of marriage equality on Monday expressed disappointment with the ruling, attorneys for the plaintiffs and state officials like California attorney general Jerry Brown said they would not appeal the stay.
Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, cautioned that the latest ruling does not necessarily indicate that the appeals court will eventually rule against marriage equality, but rather shows that “the judges understand how important a quick end to the exclusion of marriage is to gay couples, their loved ones and all Americans who believe in equality under the law.”
Plaintiff attorney Theodore Olson said he and co-counsel David Boies are immediately starting to prepare for the December proceedings.
“We are very gratified that the Ninth Circuit has recognized the importance and pressing nature of this case and the need to resolve it as quickly as possible by issuing this extremely expedited briefing schedule,” Olson said. “As Chief Judge Walker found, Proposition 8 harms gay and lesbian citizens each day it remains on the books. We look forward to moving to the next stage of this case.”
In the two-page Ninth Circuit ruling, the judges also instructed the appellants, those in favor of Prop. 8, to “include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing,” referring to the question of whether the groups arguing the case for Prop. 8 have proper standing to bring the appeal.
The suit was filed against the state of California, but the governor and attorney general refused to defend Prop. 8 in court. A coalition of religious groups, led by Christian legal agency Alliance Defense Fund, took over the case and must now prove to the appeals court that they would be directly harmed if marriage equality was legal in California.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].