The California Supreme Court last week announced it would weigh in on a key component of the state’s debate on same-sex marriage, delaying the next phase of the Proposition 8 case until at least the end of the year.
The state’s top court issued an order Feb. 16 agreeing to last month’s request from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that it provide guidance on whether or not the proponents of the state’s ban on same-sex marriage have the standing to defend the law in court.
California voters passed Proposition 8 in 2008, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, nullifying the state’s same-sex marriage law that was put in place earlier that year by a court decision.
Last year a group of same-sex couples filed suit against the state, arguing Prop. 8 violated gay couples’ constitutional rights to equal protection and due process. The state’s attorney general and governor declined to defend Prop. 8, but the backers of the voter initiative, a coalition known as Protect Marriage, intervened as defendants.
U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker last summer ruled Prop. 8 unconstitutional, and the interveners filed the appeal with the Ninth Circuit.
A panel of the appellate court in January announced it could not rule on the constitutionality of the measure until it determined whether the proponents had legal standing to intervene, an effort for which it said there was no legal precedent.
The state Supreme Court said it would give “expedited consideration” to the matter, accepting written arguments from the plaintiffs and defendants in the case between March 14 and May 9, with oral arguments to come as early as September and a final decision 90 days after the hearing.
If the justices find that the interveners do not have standing to defend the law, same-sex marriage could again be legal; however, if standing is granted, the appellate court will need to proceed on the question of constitutionality.
Equality California executive director Geoff Kors urged the court to move swiftly on the case.
“Every day that Prop. 8 remains intact, thousands of same-sex couples and their families are denied fundamental rights and basic protections,” he said.
Rick Jacobs, executive director of Courage Campaign, said last week’s ruling “does not change the fact that a federal court has ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional, but it does mean that thousands of loving LGBT families remain in legal limbo, unable to exercise their constitutional right to access the security and recognition that only comes with marriage.
“It is unfortunate that while many California families are able to marry at a time and place of their choosing, equally loving LGBT families must endure months and years of legal uncertainty,” he added. “They have waited long enough. That is why we are asking the California Supreme Court to move expeditiously to resolve the standing question once and for all. And we are confident that no matter what their decision, Judge Walker’s ruling will ultimately be upheld and the days of second-class citizenship for thousands of California families will be relegated to the dustbin of history.”
Last week, California Sen. Tom Harman introduced a bill that would require the state’s attorney general to defend approved ballot laws or authorize him or her to turn over the reins to the groups that spearhead the ballot initiatives.
Kors called Harman’s measure an “attempt to take power away from the people’s attorney, the elected Attorney General, and give it to special-interest groups.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].