July 1, 2009

Olson-Boies Prop 8 Challenge Going to Trial

Big, big development today on the Proposition 8 front: In a nutshell, U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker has ordered an evidentiary trial. What’s more, the evidence he wants covers a huge scope of information, ranging from the history of gay and lesbian discrimination, to whether or not California voters were motivated to vote for Prop 8 by anti-gay sentiment (which will entail examination of pro-Prop 8 ad media!).

I’ve skimmed today’s court order, and am very impressed (almost excited) by what I see; my initial reaction is that this is a very good development indeed, for a number of reasons.

I’ll get into the meat of it later; I want to read the order more thoroughly, pull the most pertinent excerpts, and get reactions from those far better versed in the law than I. So, for now, I’ll leave you with a link (courtesy of The Advocate) to the order itself. It’s only nine pages, and quite clear and straightforward: Perry v. Schwarzenegger Doc 76 (PDF)

Meanwhile, Judge Walker also granted various anti-gay groups, including the Alliance Defense Fund and ProtectMarriage.com, to act as intervenors (in other words, he’s allowing them to join the lawsuit and fight against Olson & Boies), which comes as no surprise to anyone.

Posted by: Sapphocrat

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