9th Circuit denies Campaign for California Families’ bid to intervene in Prop 8 suit
Perry v. Campaign for California Families, No. 09-16959 (9th Cir. Nov. 19, 2009)
We consider whether a public interest organization is entitled to intervene in a suit challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8 (“Prop. 8”), a state ballot initiative restricting the definition of marriage to the union of a man and a woman under California law. The Campaign for California Families (“the Campaign”) seeks to intervene in part because it alleges that the Official Proponents of Prop. 8 and ProtectMarriage.com—parties to the suit—will not adequately represent all the Campaign’s interests in the litigation. The reality is that the Campaign and those advocating the constitutionality of Prop. 8 have identical interests—that is, to uphold Prop. 8. Any differences are rooted in style and degree, not the ultimate bottom line. Divergence of tactics and litigation strategy is not tantamount to divergence over the ultimate objective of the suit. Because the existing parties will adequately represent the Campaign’s interests, we affirm the district court’s denial of intervention as of right. We also dismiss the appeal in part because the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying permissive intervention.
CBS 5: “The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal in which the Sacramento-based Campaign for California Families sought to become an intervenor, or party, in a lawsuit filed by two same-sex couples in May.”