Closing arguments today in Prop 8 case; ships pass in the night as opposing counsel respond to judge's questions

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker has set aside almost five hours to hear closing arguments in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the case challenging the constitutionality of Prop 8. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. local time in San Francisco. (It will not be televised; see LGBT POV for a list of who will be tweeting the argument.)

Responding to a series of questions posed by Judge Walker last week, counsel for each side filed lengthy written answers yesterday.  See Plaintiffs' Responses and Proponents' [of Prop 8] Responses. No surprises in either document - just recapitulations of arguments that each side has been making for months.

It will be interesting to see what mileage, if any, Judge Walker can derive from these responses and what follow-up questions he might ask. Maybe he'll tip his hand as to his reasoning on these points or in general, or as to how his draft opinion is shaping up.

The only thing that really matters, though, is how, and based on what analysis, he will decide the case.  And for that, we will all just have to wait.

Comments

[Mark]

Is the defense argument really that if SSM is legalized less opposite sex couples will marry and have children and the population of California will begin to taper off, eventually reverse and ultimately disappear? That is what it sounds like from reading the proponents response to courts questions. Are they really arguing that the dire consequences of SSM will lead to the collapse of California? Awesome argument.

[Rerto Jordans]

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