Everyone thinks Chief Judge Vaughn Walker's Prop 8 ruling is heading to the U.S. Supreme Court. But our former colleague, Dan Levine, has pointed to one possible bump in the road: Back in December, Imperial County sought to intervene in the marriage case with help from lawyers from Advocates for Faith & Freedom. At the time, they argued that unless Imperial was allowed to participate, there would be no governmental entity arguing that Prop 8 should be upheld.
"San Francisco has argued," Imperial's lawyers wrote then, "that the official proponents lack Article III standing and thus may not notice an independent appeal. If true, the alarming implication is that a ruling declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional may be effectively unappealable."
Maybe they were just trying to make a good argument to get into the game. In any event, Walker denied Imperial County's motion just moments after releasing today's decision. In a 17-page order, he noted that "Imperial County raises serious concerns whether the existing defendants are willing and able to seek appellate review." But, he concluded, Imperial County itself lacked standing. So motion denied.
Comments