Attorney General of California urging Supreme Court of California to review Prop 8

link

Prop 8 redux....i hope

"The profound importance of the issues raised by Proposition 8 warrants that this matter be reviewed and promptly resolved by the California Supreme Court." Attorney General Brown said.

In a set of briefs filed with the Court today, Attorney General Brown wrote that: "review by this Court is necessary to ensure uniformity of decision, finality and certainty for the citizens of California. The constitutionality of the change created by Proposition 8 impacts whether same-sex marriages may issue in California and whether same-sex marriages from other states will be recognized here. There is significant public interest in prompt resolution of the legality of Proposition 8. The Court can provide certainty and finality in this matter."

Typically, matters are brought before lower courts before the Supreme Court hears the case. However, petitioners have asked the Supreme Court to accept the review directly to bring an early resolution to the matter."

From another thread :

The state courts are perfectly free to limit the precedents to their facts and thus dismiss the Prop 8 challenge. Prop 8 doesn't involve numerous or profound changes in the basic structure of state government. Furthermore,Prop 8 added only 14 words to the state constitution, adds only one provision, and deals only with the discrete issue of defining marriage. In their view, it does not deal with a host of constitutional rights or alter the basic structure of state government or the role of the state judiciary in it. This argument may be accepted by the California courts. If forced to bet, I'd bet it will prevail.

I make no prediction about how the California courts will resolve these questions. What they will actually do probably depends in part on what they think the political and other consequences of overturning Prop 8 would be. A decision invalidating Prop 8 would infuriate both opponents of gay marriage and those wary of judicial intrusion in important matters of public policy. Prop 8 supporters raised some $35 million, effectively coordinated a massive volunteer effort, launched a devastating ad campaign, and won " only to be told it was all for naught? There would be a backlash, which might well result in attempts to recall some of the justices on the California Supreme Court. It's happened before in California, as anyone old enough to remember the name "Rose Bird" can tell you. While in theory the possibility of such a backlash should not matter to judicial decisions, in practice it would be surprising if it didn't. Supporters of Prop 8 need only peel off a single justice of the 4-justice majority to win on the revision/amendment distinction

yes i understand the points and if prop 8 is overturned or revised or sent back to the voters there will be a backlash and I do respect the votes of the people in general but I also believe that one of the important roles in goverment is to insure that the rights of the minority are not superseded by the will of the majority.