Citizens in Charge

In an important decision for initiative rights, the California Supreme Court today unanimously told the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the proponents of initiatives in California have a legal right to defend their voter-enacted measures against legal challenges:

…the justices sided with Proposition 8 sponsors, who’ve argued they should be able to appeal a federal judge’s decision last year striking down the same-sex marriage ban because the governor and attorney general have refused to defend the voter-approved law. The state Supreme Court overwhelmingly agreed that Proposition 8 backers can go it alone in trying to preserve the gay marriage ban.

At issue is a lawsuit against Proposition 8, a ballot measure passed by California voters in 2008 to ban same-sex marriage. Federal District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled in August of 2010 that Prop 8 is unconstitutional as a violation of the equal protection rights of gay and lesbian couples.

The Ninth Circuit had delayed its review of Judge Walker’s ruling to ask California’s highest court if the sponsors of the ballot measure had legal standing to appeal the district court decision alone, after the governor and state attorney general declined to appeal the lower court ruling.

Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, speaking for the entire court, wrote, “The inability of the official proponents of an initiative measure to appeal a trial court judgment invalidating the measure, when the public officials who ordinarily would file such an appeal decline to do so, would significantly undermine the initiative power.”

Now, the Ninth Circuit will move forward to decide the merits of the legal challenge to Prop 8:

The 9th Circuit must still resolve the legal question of whether Proposition 8 sponsors have standing under federal court rules to press the appeal, but legal experts have generally predicted the court would allow the case to proceed if gay marriage opponents secured a favorable ruling from the California Supreme Court, particularly because the federal judges themselves said they would follow the state Supreme Court’s guidance. In fact, the lawyers for same-sex couples conceded Thursday the issue is probably dead in the 9th Circuit.

David Boies, one of those lawyers, called it “very unlikely” the 9th Circuit would not follow the state Supreme Court’s ruling.

The 9th Circuit judges hearing the case previously indicated they were troubled by the possibility that a governor and attorney general could undermine a voter-approved law simply by refusing to defend it in court.

While taking no position either for or against Proposition 8, Citizens in Charge strongly supports the California Supreme Court’s decision that sponsors of initiatives have a legal right to defend their measures.

Read the San Jose Mercury News story on this decision here.

A copy of the decision is here.