Litigation

Prop 8 Trial Judge Poses Searching Questions

By Peter Hardin

Federal Judge Vaughn R. Walker has formally set June 16 for final arguments in the historic California trial about same-sex marriage, while posing more than nine pages of difficult questions to the opposing sides.

Of gay rights activists, he asks, “Until very recently, same-sex relationships did not enjoy legal protection anywhere in the United States. How does this fact square with plaintiffs’ claims that marriage between persons of the same sex enjoys the status of a fundamental right entitled to constitutional protection?”

According to a San Francisco Chronicle article, Judge Walker puts proponents of Proposition 8 (banning same-sex marriage) on the spot with another question: “If, under California law, registered domestic partners are to be treated just like married spouses, what purpose is served by differentiating–in name only–between same-sex and opposite-sex unions?”

Gavel Grab thanks Huffington Post for making available, in an article by Rick Jacobs, the link to Judge Walker’s written questions. To learn more about the trial, see Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 09, 2010 (boomark / email).