AFER, the American Foundation for Equal Rights, today announced a major announcement is coming tomorrow in the Prop 8 case. Prop 8, a constitutional amendment to California’s constitution, banned same-sex marriage. Tomorrow, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to announce if it will hear Perry v. Brown, the Proposition 8 case, again, “en banc.” En banc means a panel of 11 Ninth Circuit judges, randomly chosen.
Assuming the Ninth Circuit refuses to rehear the case, the anti-gay marriage supporters of Prop 8 — who requested an en banc hearing back in February — are expected to take the case to the Supreme Court.
At issue: if Judge Vaughn Walker should have recused himself because he is gay and in a long-term relationship, if Prop 8 is constitutional, and if the pro-Prop 8 supporters — the anti-gay folks — even have standing to appeal this case.
All of these questions were already answered back in February when a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that Judge Walker shut not have recused himself, ruled that Prop 8 is unconstitutional, but ruled that the Prop 8 supporters did have standing — the right to represent the case.
For more, read our Prop 8 stories archive, our Judge Walker stories archive, and our AFER stories archive.
AFER posted the above excellent infographic that explains all this in a nice format. If you want to see a larger version, visit AFER and AFER’s full timeline of Perry v. Brown.