Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMay 15th, 2014
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a temporary stay of a lower court’s ruling that found Idaho’s ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional. The lower courts ruling was set to go into effect on Friday at 9:00 a.m., but Gov. Butch Otter filed an emergency request with the Ninth Circuit asking for a stay until the pending appeal is completed. The Ninth Circuit has partially granted that request:
In a one-sentence order, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote, “The district court’s May 13, 2014 order is temporarily stayed pending this court’s disposition of appellants’ emergency motions for a stay pending appeal.”
In other words, the three-panel court (consisting of Judges Edward Leavy, Consuelo Callahan, and Andrew Hurwitz) have decided to issue a temporary stay to give them time to decide whether to keep the stay in place throughout the appeals process.
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Eric Payne
May 16th, 2014
Before the Ninth Circuit, essentially, got smacked down by the United States Supreme Court in Hollingsworth v. Perry — SCOTUS ruled the plaintiffs had no standing, thus, the Ninth should never have heard the appeal — it had issued a ruling that California’s Prop 8 violated the United States’ Constitution, which no individual state’s Constitution is permitted to do. By issuing such a ruling, technically, the decision of the Ninth never existed, reverting the outcome of that case to the previous ruling.
So, now, the Ninth gets hit with two requests in just a few days: NOM wants a reversal of an order issued barring them from intervening in “defending” Oregon’s marriage equality case, and a request for a stay in the ruling of Idaho’s ruling in favor of marriage equality.
Since the NOM appeal is a replay of Perry, and SCOTUS has already ruled on “standing,” the response of the Ninth should be a no-brainier — the Ninth will deny the request and, in-line with its Perry ruling! SCOTUS will decline to hear the appeal.
Although, I personally believe the request by Idaho’s governor should also have been denied, since before SCOTUS’ decision in Perry, the Ninth had also rendered a decision on marriage equality.
Then it hit me — since SCOTUS “erased” that pro-equality decision, it doesn’t exist… so the gears and levers of the system have to go through the motions.
So, who’s going to get to SCOTUS first? Utah and/or New Mexico out of the Tenth Circuit? Oregon and/or Idaho and/or Nevada out of the Ninth? Pennsylvania out of the Third? Georgia out of the Eleventh (long shot, since case has only been recently filed)? South Carolina and the Fourth(also a long shot as no decision yet reached)? Fifth Circuit and Texas, maybe Virginia and the Fourth? The Sixth Circuit and Michigan, maybe? The Seventh’s Indiana? Or the Eighth and Arkansas?
The only areas of the United States in which a marriage equality case, right now, is not winding it’s way through the system is the First Circuit and the Second Circuit. In all the other cases — at all of the current levels — the decision(s) issued have been pro-marriage equality.
The handwriting’s not only on the wall — it’s been writing with a neon green Sharpie.
Sir Andrew
May 16th, 2014
I’m not sure ANY of these cases will be accepted by SCOTUS. Every court is saying the exact same thing. There is no real controversy that needs resolving. And that is a mandatory part of jurisdiction.
FYoung
May 17th, 2014
According to some commentators at Equality on Trial, SCOTUS cannot wait until 2016 as it had hoped, but must publish a decision in 2015 due to the sheer number of cases throughout the country and their controversy.
One commentators stated that the only cases that will likely be decided by the Court of Appeals early enough to be decided by SCOTUS in 2015 are the cases out of Oklahoma (not New Mexico, where ME is already achieved), Utah (10th) and Virginia (4th), due in part to the early District Court decisions in the 4th and 9th circuits and especially due to the speed of the 4th Circuit.
Jay
May 17th, 2014
Interesting review of the Jo Becker book on Proposition 8, along with the earlier book by Dale Carpenter on Lawrence v. Texas at glbtq.com by Claude Summers. Summers finds both books readable and informative, but especially appreciates Carpenter’s book for its broader perspective and placing the issues in larger contexts. Here is a link.
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