Gay marriage ruling stayed

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling that California’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. Judge Walker had ruled that a stay is not warranted. But a unanimous panel of the Ninth Circuit disagreed, rejecting Judge Walker’s lengthy analysis with a one sentence declaration that it was granting the stay. The panel included two judges appointed by President Clinton.
The panel did say, however, that appellants (the parties arguing for the reversal of Judge Walker’s opinion on the merits) “are directed to include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing.” As I noted here, Walker strongly suggested, in denying a stay, that appellants might not have standing to appeal.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses