We will live blog the Ninth Circuit Proposition 8 Oral Argument.
When: Monday, December 6, 2010 at 10:00 am (Pacific Time) – 8:00 am Hawaii time.
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit issued a press release on the details of the California Proposition 8 oral argument. We’ve tweeted about these details previously, but the press release is a good summation and can be found here.
In case you’re unfamiliar with this case, the appeal involves a challenge by two same-sex couples to the constitutionality of Proposition 8, a voter-enacted amendment to the California Constitution passed on November 4, 2008, which provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid in California. On August 4, 2010, a California federal court declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional and entered an order permanently enjoining its enforcement. The appeal also involves the issue of standing.
In approving Proposition 8, California joined 29 other states with constitutional language defining marriage including Hawaii. Hawaii's constitution was amended in 1998 to read "The Legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples." The Hawaii legislature subsequently passed a law prohibiting marriage for same-sex couples.
Oral argument will last for 2 hours – split into 1 hour shifts with standing addressed in the first hour and the substantive issues addressed in the second hour.
Stay tuned here for live commentary as the oral argument unfolds.
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