Prop. 8 Ruling Delayed

Excerpts of Prop. 8 Ruling Delayed By Standing Questions by Candace Chellew-Hodge, Religious Dispatches
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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is asking for help from the state's Supreme Court in the constitutional challenge to Proposition 8. At issue, ...

The issue of whether Protectmarriage.com, the backers of Prop. 8, have standing in the federal lawsuit has been a key issue in the case since both former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Governor Jerry Brown, serving as the state's attorney general, refused to defend Prop. 8 before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals when the three-judge panel heard oral arguments last month.

The court did rule that a deputy court clerk from Imperial County, California, did not have standing to intervene in the case to defend Proposition 8, affirming the lower court's ruling on that issue.



But because such a ruling would have a significant impact on future legal battles over California ballot initiatives, the 9th Circuit is deferring to the CA Supremes. The CA Supremes could say "yes, the proponents do have standing" or "no, they proponents do not have standing," or they could simply not respond at all. ...