Should Summary Judgment Have Been Granted in the Federal Proposition 8 Suit? Part Two
Vikram David Amar writes at Findlaw:
In my last column, Part One in this series, I discussed some recent developments in the federal court litigation over the legality of California’s Proposition 8. That initiative measure, adopted by state voters last fall, amended the California constitution to ban recognition of same-sex marriage in the state. Opponents of Proposition 8 filed suit in federal district court this spring alleging that the provision violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the United States Constitution.
A few weeks ago, as I reported in Part One, Judge Vaughn Walker denied a motion brought by the defendants – the backers of the Proposition — for summary judgment. Had the defendants’ motion been successful (and been upheld on appeal), the federal case against Proposition 8 would have ended. Instead, it is going forward.
In this column, I’ll continue my explanation of the defendants’ contentions, and elaborate my arguments for why the judge’s decision to proceed with the case was at least plausible.