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En banc 9th Circuit affirms dismissal of suit alleging that San Francisco supervisors unconstitutionally attacked the Catholic Church when they denounced a Vatican order prohibiting Catholic Charities from placing adoptive children with same-sex couples

En banc Ninth Circuit affirms dismissal of lawsuit alleging that San Francisco supervisors unconstitutionally attacked the Catholic Church when they denounced a Vatican order prohibiting Catholic Charities from placing adoptive children with same-sex couples: You can access today's en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.

In December 2009, Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the en banc reargument of the case in an article headlined "Catholic group takes on S.F. supes in court."

The manner in which the en banc court determined the outcome of the case is rather interesting. The en banc panel consisted of 11 judges. By a vote of 6-5, the en banc court first holds that the plaintiffs have standing to bring the lawsuit. Three of the judges who joined in the majority on the issue of standing proceed to conclude, by means of a separate opinion, that the plaintiffs' claims fail on the merits. The vote of those three judges, combined with the five judges who would hold that plaintiffs lack standing to sue, produce a majority of eight judges to reject plaintiffs' claims.

Full post as published by How Appealing on October 22, 2010 (boomark / email).