The California Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday to decide whether the official proponents of Proposition 8 have legal standing to defend the measure in the case now pending before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Standing is a critical issue for Prop 8 because Gov. Jerry Brown and Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris refused to appeal retired-Chief Judge Vaughn Walker’s 2010 federal ruling striking down Prop 8. ProtectMarriage, the group that sponsored the 2008 ballot proposition, took up the cause of defending the controversial California measure.

“Whether under Article II, Section 8 of the California Constitution, or otherwise under California law, the official proponents of an initiative measure possess either a particularized interest in the initiative’s validity or the authority to assert the State’s interest in the initiative’s validity, which would enable them to defend the constitutionality of the initiative upon its adoption or appeal a judgment invalidating the initiative, when the public officials charged with that duty refuse to do so.”

During Tuesday’s hearings, the California Supreme Court was responsive to ProtectMarriage’s assertion that a private group can represent the state when state officials refuse to defend state laws. Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye commented that citizen initiatives would be illusory if their sponsors were not allowed to defend the measures in the absence of state support.

The court will decide within 90 days if ProtectMarriage has legal standing to continue championing Prop 8.

Related Resources:

  • FindLaw’s California Case Law blog (FindLaw)
  • Supreme Court Schedules Proposition 8 Standing Hearing (FindLaw’s California Case Law blog)
  • Calif. High Court Signals Prop. 8 Case Likely to Continue (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Stark Raving Mad? Cal Court Says Ecstasy Not Controlled Substance (FindLaw’s California Case Law blog)

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