Legal News

Governor and AG won't be forced to defend Prop 8, but Imperial County volunteers

By Richard Binder

Last week the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento dismissed without comment a lawsuit seeking to compel Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that overturned Prop 8.

The suit was filed by the conservative Pacific Justice Institute, which plans to file an immediate appeal.

Meanwhile, Imperial County is utilizing the pro bono services of Advocates for Faith and Freedom in order to defend the measure that banned same-sex marriage. They claim they have an interest in the case because county clerks have to issue marriage licenses and conduct ceremonies and are directly impacted by the law. Judge Walker wrote in his ruling that neither Imperial County nor the groups that defended the law may have the authority to pursue an appeal. The 9th Circuit may decide otherwise when the case is heard in December.

Shaun Martin, a constitutional law professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, says, "We don?t let people challenge policies just because they don?t like them." Jennifer Monk, a lawyer with Advocates for Faith and Freedom, counters that since neither the governor nor attorney general are defending the law, someone has to.

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Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on September 07, 2010 (boomark / email).