Legal Fight Against Proposition 8 Heats Up
Although one California Supreme Court justice voted last week against taking up lawsuits challenging Proposition 8, a gay attorney said the justice was among those to previously rule for marriage rights.
Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, sought to allay concerns during a Nov. 21 conference call following Justice Joyce Kennard’s lone vote against the court’s majority decision to take up the lawsuits.
Minter said Kennard has made it clear in other decisions that she “really does not like the court to have to decide very important issues on a shortened time frame.”
The California Supreme Court has precedent when it comes to invalidating an amendment on the grounds that it should be considered a revision and not an amendment, Minter said. He noted the court has heard nine similar cases on this issue and in about one-third of those cases decided to invalidate the amendment.
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