CA: Both Sides File Written Arguments in Prop 8 Trial

Opposing sides in the legal battle over same-sex marriage in California have laid out their cases in writing to a federal judge, disputing the status of gays and lesbians in society, the nature of marriage, and the motives behind the ballot measure that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. "Californians voted for Proposition 8 because they thought it would strengthen the institution of marriage (and) ... because they thought it would benefit children," sponsors of Prop. 8 said Friday night in papers filed in federal court in San Francisco.

Their opponents, representing two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco, said those purported goals of Prop. 8 were contradicted by overwhelming evidence at a 12-day trial in January that allowing same-sex couples to wed would benefit their children and the institution of marriage. Regardless of the intentions of individual voters, they argued, the Prop. 8 campaign was designed to appeal to fear and deep-seated prejudice.

"The evidence demonstrates that Proposition 8's actual motivation was moral disapproval of gay and lesbian individuals," said the measure's opponents, plaintiffs in the federal court case. They said the ballot measure "sends a message to gay and lesbian individuals that they are not welcome in California."

Full Story from SFGate
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CA: Court Proposes Televising Prop 8 Closing Arguments

The U.S. district court in San Francisco has proposed that closing arguments in the trial over the anti-gay-marriage measure Proposition 8 be televised, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. An attempt to televise the entire trial failed after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened, saying the pro-Prop. 8 side feared its witnesses would be subject to intimidation. The anti-Prop. 8 side had supported televising the proceedings.

The proposal to televise the closing arguments was posted on the court's website, and the court has taken public comments on it. The plan to televise the full trial had received overwhelmingly positive comments from the public before the Supreme Court quashed it.

No date has been set for closing arguments; Judge Vaughn Walker had postponed them until after he received a final round of briefs, due Friday.

Full Story from the Advocate
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CA: NOM Tries to Muddy the Water With Post on Prop 8 Judge's Impartiality

What's that adage about spin - say it long enough, hard enough, loud enough and eventually it will take on the cloak of truth? Well, the latest missive from National Organization Executive Director Brian Brown reads more like a fairy tale - showing that this Emperor has no clothes.

Brown's email to supporters was in response a San Francisco Chronicle column published Sunday ostensibly "outing" Judge Vaugn Walker - who was not in the closet. That bit of "news" was not really new - which blogger Michael Petrelis pointed out with a Cheshire cat grin since he was the one who first raised the issue publicly in July. Queerty picked it up as a stand-alone story, while other bloggers and reporters referenced it in passing or didn't feel it was relevant to Walker's ability to try the case. After all, if Walker's sexual orientation is an issue in him deciding an LGBT-related case, well then, what about a straight judge who's been divorced judging a case involving marital relations? Indeed, US Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas would have to recuse himself from any case involving gender equality or sexual harassment.

Here's Brown's email so I'm not accused of taking anything out of context- after which I'll have some fun with facts.

Full Story from the Huffington Post
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CA: First Episode of the Prop 8 Trial Re-enactment Posted

In its January 13, 2010 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the public broadcast of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a U.S. District Court case challenging the constitutional validity of California Proposition 8. Working from court transcripts and first-hand accounts from bloggers who are present at the trial, we are re-enacting the trial and posting it here for public viewing.

We offer context for each episode from our two experts, David Cruz and Linda Hirshman. First, Cruz gives an overview of what is happening during the day’s proceedings--introducing the players and providing an explanation for the legal strategies being employed. Then, Hirshman recounts her first-person experience in the courtroom from San Francisco--describing the dynamics in the room and pointing out the social significance of what you are watching unfold.

See the First Episode Here
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Recap of the Final Day of the Prop 8 Trial

WELCOME BACK we missed you, we love you, we’re glad you’re back. This is the last day of the trial where evidence (like witnesses) can be entered, and also the day we say goodbye to the man who has brought us such a bright and beautiful rainbow of feelings, Dr. David Blankenhorn. Does it feel like the last episode of Friends? Are you going to cry? I hope not. His cross-examination continues right… now!

If you’re a person of the future, catch up on the entire trial here: Judgment Daze. And look, we made it all the way to the end without Alex fixing the typo in the Judgment Graphic. However, it is good looking isn’t it? And as Alex has pointed out, they spell it that way in the UK.

Queerty was watching yesterday and they also found Blankenhorn to be a big disaster.

Full Story from Autostraddle
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CA: Prop 8 Trial Final Day Recap

Today was the final day of testimony in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Like every day before it, today was remarkable. The majority of the day was spent on finishing up the cross-examination of David Blankenhorn, an expert witness for the defendants. As he did yesterday, renowned attorney David Boies absolutely nailed the examination. Blankenhorn did nothing to help himself, fighting Boies's yes-or-no questions at every turn even when Boies was simply laying a basic foundation with uncontroversial points. Blankenhorn's defensive behavior verged on the histrionic, contrasting sharply with Boies's calm, matter-of-fact approach. At one point, Judge Walker stepped in and instructed Blankenhorn to keep in mind that a fact-finder, meaning a judge or jury, can consider a witness's demeanor when deciding how credible that witness is and how seriously to take his or her testimony. Although Judge Walker delivered it with great diplomacy and tact, this was a fairly sharp rebuke.

On cross, Boies established a couple of key points that gravely undermined Blankenhorn's authority as an expert on marriage. First, Boies elicited testimony that Blankenhorn had not read many leading scholarly articles addressing the question of how society would be affected by allowing same-sex couples to marry. For example, of the dozens of articles cited in policy statements supporting marriage equality for same-sex couples by leading professional organizations, Blankenhorn admitted that he had read scarcely more than a handful. In contrast, all of the plaintiffs' expert witnesses were demonstrably well-versed in the entire range of scholarly literature on the topics about which they testified.

Second, Boies elicited extensive testimony from Blankenhorn acknowledging that permitting same-sex couples to marry would "almost certainly" benefit those couples and their children. Blankenhorn also testified that the most important dimensions of marriage (as defined by Blankenhorn in one of his publications) are the same for same-sex and opposite-sex couples. In short, by the end of Blankenhorn's cross, his own testimony had provided multiple powerful reasons to permit same-sex couples to marry, and his opposition to marriage equality seemed virtually inexplicable.

Full Story from Pam's House Blend
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CA: Another Prop 8 Trial Day 11 Recap

Hellloooooooo gorgeous! How are you? Are you ready for more of our terrible/AWESOME make-you-laugh-then-cry-then-laugh-harder Professional Frenemy Kenneth Miller? Good, because that’s what’s happening. When I was a babyqueer I used to play Little League baseball (on a boy’s team, obvs) and we had a “Slaughter Rule,” which was that if the other team was more than like seven runs ahead you could just give up. I would be lying if I said I were not hoping a little bit that that might just happen today, and everyone could leave the courthouse and go to Panera. Let’s find out!

We are going pretty easy on the guy to start; Boies is pretty much just saying numbers and asking Miller to confirm that these numbers exist, which seems like it should be doable. “32% of population that attended church weekly voted yes on Prop. 8 84% of the time. Consistent with your understanding?” Yes. Duh.

Remember when Miller was all up in our grills about how gays are Super Powerful Like Superman because farm workers’ unions are on our side? Yeah, it turns out that when asked how labor unions tended to vote on Prop 8, he doesn’t know. Okay, Jesus, this is getting ridiculous. He is like a giant baby!

Full Story from Autostraddle
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CA: Prop 8 Trial Update Day 11

Today was one of the most dramatic days of the trial, with startling admissions by the proponents' two expert witnesses: Professor Kenneth Miller, testifying about the political power of gay people, and David Blankenhorn, testifying about the purposes of marriage.

The morning began with the conclusion of David Boies's cross-examination of Professor Miller. Boies confronted Prof. Miller with several of Prof. Miller's own earlier writings, which were highly critical of the ballot initiative process and particularly highlighted the risk that majorities will use the initiative process to target minority groups. Prof. Miller admitted that ballot measures can, and have, drawn upon anti-minority sentiment. Indeed, one of Prof. Miller's own articles cited Proposition 22, the California initiative prohibiting marriage for same-sex couples that passed in 2000, as an example of such an anti-minority initiative.

Following the conclusion of Prof. Miller's testimony, the afternoon was taken up by questioning of the proponents' final witness, David Blankenhorn, the president of a private think tank called the Institute for American Values. Blankenhorn is best known as the author of a book called Fatherless America, in which he argued that fatherlessness is "the most harmful demographic trend of this generation" and the leading cause of "our most urgent social problems, from crime to adolescent pregnancy to child sexual abuse to domestic violence against women." Blankenhorn is also one of the most visible and culturally influential opponents of marriage for same-sex couples.

Full Story from Pam's House Blend
Click here for gay marriage resources in California.
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CA: Another Prop 8 Trial Recap From Edge Boston

Monday, Jan. 25, was not a good day for Claremont McKenna College political science professor Kenneth Miller. Appearing as an expert witness for proponents of Proposition 8, he was the defense lead-off in the federal bench trial challenging California’s same-sex marriage ban. He was originally called in to show the political clout of the LGBT community that the proponents say make court intervention unnecessary. But his testimony came off as ill informed and ill prepared under cross-examination from plaintiffs attorney David Boies.

Boies conceded Miller’s expertise in American politics but challenged his credentials as an expert on LGBT discrimination. Defense attorney David Thompson claimed he had focused on LGBT politics from the 1970s on.

Boies, however, sharply asked him what the Mattachine Society was. Miller did admitted he didn’t know what that seminal pre-Stonewall gay-rights organizations was when he was deposed earlier. Since then, he countered, he studied their role in LGBT activism. OK, Boies, continued, so who’s Allen Spears and Elaine Noble? He didn’t know.

Full Story from Edge Boston
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CA: Prop 8 Trial Recap Day 10

Today was another exciting day as the Prop 8 trial heads into the home stretch. The plaintiffs finished their case today, and defendants got started with their first witness, Professor Kenneth Miller.

The plaintiffs' attorneys closed their case by playing excerpts from two simulcasts that were broadcast to gatherings of evangelical voters during the Prop 8 campaign. These simulcasts were sponsored and paid for by ProtectMarriage.com, the official Yes on 8 campaign organization. In the portions shown, one speaker said, "The polygamists are waiting in the wings, because if a man can marry a man and a woman can marry a woman, the polygamists are going to use that exact same argument and they probably are going to win." Another speaker referred to a man marrying a horse, and a third speaker compared the impact of permitting same-sex couples to marry to the 9/11 attacks.

The videos of these outrageous statements, made in a forum sponsored and paid for by the official Yes on 8 campaign, provided a fitting end to the plaintiffs' case. It brought the focus back to the long history of demonization the LGBT community has faced in the public sphere-- from the grim historical events described in Professor George Chauncey's testimony two weeks ago to the themes of the Yes on 8 campaign, as shown in today's videos and the highly inflammatory testimony of Prop 8 proponent Dr. Bill Tam. The plaintiffs have done an admirable job of laying out the case that Prop 8 was a product of the same kind of prejudice that has driven many other anti-gay laws throughout our nation's history.

Full Story from Pam's House Blend
Click here for gay marriage resources in California.
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CA: Prop 8 Trial - How Can We Win?

Another week of the Proposition 8 gay marriage trial is over, and you know what that means! Yes, that you got four more glorious recaps of the action. BUT ALSO Jessica, your favorite lawyer ever, is back to explain everything to us laypeople!

Last time, Jessica told us about the equal protection clause. Specifically, she explained how our side is trying to prove that Prop 8 violates that clause because it discriminates based on sexual orientation.

This time around, she’ll explore Team Totally Right’s other arguments — there are several! So here we go, these are all the possible ways we could win this thing, it’s like a choose your own adventure book but a judge gets to do the choosing.

Full Story from Autostraddle
Click here for gay marriage resources in California.
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Prop 8 Trial Defense Begins Calling Witnesses Monday

Plaintiffs seeking to overturn California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, rested their case on Friday. The trial, which ended its ninth day, is the first in a federal court to consider whether state bans on gay marriages are unconstitutional.

The defense plans to call two witnesses on Monday and could wrap up their presentation within two days. The Plaintiffs took two weeks to present their case.

Ted Olson, an attorney for the two same-sex couples suing to overturn the marriage ban, said he believes discrimination and a civil rights violation have been shown, both of which are violations of the US Constitution. “These individuals who testified, the plaintiffs in this case and others, testified what great, immense, irreparable harm it does when we treat our fellow citizens in this society differently,” Olson said. “We brand them as different. We brand their relationships as less valued.”

Full Story from KCBS
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CA Prop 8 Trial Recap Day 9

After two weeks of powerful and often emotional evidence, the plaintiffs presented their last live witness today. On Monday, after playing some videos of deposition testimony, the plaintiffs will rest their case, and then the defendants will have their turn. Typically, at the end of all witness testimony, the attorneys present closing arguments. This morning Judge Walker announced that there will be a two week break before closing arguments to give the parties a chance to review the evidence. Today, we heard expert testimony from Dr. Gregory Herek, a professor at U.C. Davis, who is an authority on sexual orientation and stigma. On direct examination by the plaintiffs' attorney Ethan Dettmer, Dr. Herek explained that a person's "sexual orientation" can be defined based on an enduring pattern of attraction to men, women, or both, and can also include a person's own self-identification, as well as their pattern of sexual behavior. Dr. Herek testified that since the 1970s it has been the consensus in the field of psychology that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and that sexual orientation has no inherent connection to a person's ability to contribute to society, be happy, and lead a normal life. Strongly supporting one of the plaintiffs' core arguments, Dr. Herek testified that there is no evidence "conversion therapy" is effective in changing a person's sexuality. In fact, he testified, the American Psychological Association has expressed concern about LGBT adolescents participating in "conversion therapy," which sends a harmful and false message to young people that homosexuality is a disorder. Full Story from Pam's House Blend

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Prop 8 Trial, Day 8 Recap

Today was another blockbuster day in the Perry trial, with more razor sharp testimony from Professor Gary Segura, followed by disturbing testimony by one of the official proponents of Prop 8, Dr. Hak-Shing William ("Bill") Tam. Yesterday closed with expert testimony from Professor Segura, an authority on political representation. The plaintiffs called Professor Segura to provide evidence that LGBT people lack sufficient political power to effectively protect their own interests through the political process. This will help to establish that laws discriminating based on sexual orientation, like Prop 8, should receive heightened constitutional scrutiny. Professor Segura returned to the stand this morning for a long, drawn-out cross-examination by the proponents' attorney David Thompson. Thompson's strategy seemed to be to ask questions addressing the ways in which LGBT people have made some political progress, as if any evidence of progress indicates that LGBT people do not face discrimination. Full Story from Pam's House Blend

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CA: Prop 8 Trial Update, Day 6

This morning we heard first from Jerry Sanders, the Republican Mayor of San Diego. I remember Mayor Sanders well from the 2008 election -- he made a heartfelt and courageous statement about his lesbian daughter and why he opposed Proposition 8 that, to me, was one of the most profound moments of the campaign. Mayor Sanders' testimony today was similarly powerful. Adding to the star power of the day, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera conducted Mayor Sander's examination. Mayor Sanders, the former Police Chief of San Diego, testified about the evolution of his own support for marriage equality. Many years ago, he came to believe that harassment against gay people was wrong after seeing a good police officer hounded out of the department for being gay. Mayor Sanders also testified that he had shared a close relationship with his daughter, Lisa, who is a lesbian, and worried about her because of the persistence of hate crimes and discrimination against LGBT people. But as recently as 2007, he continued to believe and to take the public position that civil unions were equal to marriage. In 2007, Mayor Sanders had publicly committed to veto a San Diego City Council resolution authorizing the filing of a supportive brief in the California marriage case. He testified that the night before he was to veto the resolution, he spoke with same-sex couples, and was overwhelmed by the "depth of hurt" these couples experienced from being treated unequally. Despite his political commitments, Mayor Sanders testified, "I could not bring myself to tell an entire group of people that they were unequal . . . I couldn't look them in the face and tell them their relationships were any less meaningful than the relationship I shared with my wife." Full Story from Pam's House Blend

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CA: Preview of the Prop 8 Trial, Day 6

The federal trial over the unconstitutionality of Proposition 8 will continue Tuesday, January 19 at 8:30 am. The legal team, led by Theodore Olson and David Boies, will continue to illustrate the discrimination and impact of the initiative. The American Foundation for Equal Rights launched the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case and brought together Olson and Boies to lead the litigation. This past week ten witnesses, including Kris Perry, Sandy Stier, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo and five eminent experts, clearly and convincingly demonstrated critical points during its opening week, including the importance of marriage in American society; that Proposition 8 perpetrates irreparable, immeasurable and discriminatory harm for no good reason; and that by denying gay men and lesbians the right to marry, Proposition 8 causes grievous harm to the plaintiffs and other gay men and lesbians throughout California, and adds yet another chapter to the long history of discrimination they have suffered. Full Story from Pam's House Blend

Click here for gay marriage resources in California.

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CA: Anti-Prop 8 Lawyer Wants Obama to "Catch Up to My Conservative Republican Co-Counsel"

It has been quite a journey for Ted Olson. He’s gone from being the conservative lawyer who helped crown W. by winning the Bush v. Gore case before the Supreme Court, to being a lesbian. “Maureen,” he told me in his gravelly voice, “one of the biggest lesbian groups in this country told me I’m already an honorary lesbian.” Did it make you feel different, I wondered. “I still like women very much,” he wryly replied, as his biking pal, liberal adversary and now co-counsel David Boies laughed, snacking on a crust of sourdough bread in their temporary office on Mission Street. In 2000, Olson and Boies sparred with each other in Washington over which candidate would marry the country. Now they have joined forces here to spar with Prop 8 defenders over who can marry. Full Story from the NY Times

Click here for gay marriage resources in California.

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CA: More of the Prop 8 Trial Explained

Hey, remember Jessica the lawyer from our Prop 8 Q&A on Saturday? She’s back, as promised, to further explain the legal issues behind the gay marriage trial happening in San Francisco this week. Because sometimes that shit is confusing. When we talk about marriage equality, we start with vague ideas of “constitutional protections.” We can’t all delve into legal definitions (that’s my job!) so instead we take these words at face value. If the Equal Protection Clause means anything; it means that gays & lesbians are entitled to the same protections as everyone else, right? Fundamental rights must include the right to dictate the most fundamental aspects of our lives — our families. And yet, for the past week, we have tracked the arguments in federal court, where witnesses have spent hours discussing discrimination, stigma, economic impact analysis, mental health problems, and a wide range of consequences that essentially stem from the fact that gays and lesbians exist but are somehow exempt from equal protection. Full Story from Autostraddle

Click here for gay marriage resources in California.

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CA: Four Defense Witnesses Drop Out of Prop 8 Gay Marriage Trial

The Federal Trial over Proposition 8 will continue in San Francisco on Monday after wrapping up its first full week. On Friday - sponsors of Prop 8 announced they're shortening their witness list for next week. Instead of six people, they'll only have two. The lawyer for the sponsors of the proposition that bans gay marriage says their witnesses are worried about their safety. "Their concern was the same that others have, that they will be targeted for retaliation, both professionally and personally," said Andrew Pugno, Yes on Prop 8. The reason they withdrew those expert witnesses was not because of cameras, it was because they did not want to subject them to cross examination by David Boies," said Theodore Boutrous, No on Prop 8. Full Story from ABC30

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CA: Q&A On the Prop 8 Trial

Have you been following our Prop 8 trial coverage? Perhaps you’ve wondered about the larger legal issues in the trial, or don’t understand why this one judge makes the decision, or what happens if we win, or what “suspect class” means. Well, we also have questions and don’t understand things! The trial is on pause until Tuesday, so we’d like to take this opportunity to drop some legal knowledge all over your beautiful bodies: Meet Jessica, a real live lawyer! She’s about to blow your mind with facts and explanations like it’s her job because, incidentally, it is! Jessica works for a legal publishing company where she writes and edits articles that explain legal developments to people who didn’t go to law school. Aren’t you glad she gave up on her initial dream of becoming the world’s first dancing astronaut? After reading this, you can probably join a law firm or run for Senate. At the very least, we hope you’ll be able to re-explain this Prop 8 stuff to your family and friends, which will make you look just as smart as Jessica. Full Story from Autostraddle

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.