Should Summary Judgment Have Been Granted in the Federal Proposition 8 Suit? Part One

Should Summary Judgment Have Been Granted in the Federal Proposition 8 Suit? Part One

By VIKRAM DAVID AMAR
Friday, October 23, 2009

In this column, the first in a two-part series, I analyze an important skirmish that took place last week in the federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California's voter-approved state constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.

United States District Court Judge Vaughn Walker rejected an attempt by Proposition 8's backers to score an early knockout punch via a so-called "summary judgment" motion that, if granted and upheld on appeal, would have ended the federal district court challenge to the state initiative.

In rejecting the defendants' summary judgment bid, Judge Walker effectively held that a trial on the merits of the case should occur -- perhaps as early as next January -- before the plaintiffs' challenge to Proposition 8 can be resolved. (Judge Walker has not yet issued a written opinion explaining his reasons for denying summary judgment to the defendants, but is expected to do so soon.)

As I discuss in more detail below and in Part II of this series, while some of the legal arguments the defendants advanced in support of their summary judgment attempt may ultimately prove correct, Judge Walker's bottom line that a trial is warranted is also appropriate.

[...]

Full article below

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/amar/20091023.html