THE ECONOMIST: A vital case gets under way in California
LOS ANGELES – THE venue, gay-friendly San Francisco, is a predictable one for a legal challenge that may lead to the legalisation of gay marriage in America. But that hardly detracts from the drama of the trial of Perry v Schwarzenegger, which began on January 11th. Pitting two gay couples (including Kristin Perry) against the state of California (represented by its governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger), it is a federal review of whether Proposition 8, a Californian voter initiative of 2008 that outlawed gay marriage in the state, is constitutional.
Whatever the outcome, the case is likely to end up in the Supreme Court. But first the trial will do two things: it will establish for the first time a body of expert evidence which appellate courts can use to evaluate claims by supporters and opponents of gay marriage. And it will blur the existing partisan divide on the issue between conservatives and liberals.
This is thanks to the unusual pairing of lawyers who are arguing in favour of gay marriage for the plaintiffs. David Boies, a well-known liberal who acted for Al Gore in his 2000 court fight against George Bush over the presidency, is an unsurprising choice. But his partner, Theodore Olson, is a prominent conservative and was Mr Boies’s courtroom adversary in 2000. Now he has teamed up with Mr Boies to argue for legalising gay marriage based on what he considers an arch-conservative interpretation of the constitution. >>> | Thursday, January 14, 2010
