Archive for courts
Oh, Perry! (Hold On)
In case you were wondering whether the Prop 8 defenders believe their arguments are sound, wonder no more: They have gone so far as to seek, from Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (who decides such applications for the Ninth Circuit, of which California is a part), an emergency stay of the California court’s order to [...]
Changing the Terms of Debate
An opinion piece in today’s Asbury Park Press, a New Jersey paper, argues that that there’s no need to “rush” gay marriage through a lame-duck session of the legislature. (Outgoing Governor Corzine will sign it if it reaches him before his term expires in January; Governor-elect Christie would veto such a measure.)
Whatever the merits of [...]
Dallas Judge Declares Texas’s Ban on Same-Sex Marriages Violates the Federal Constitution
Courts sometimes find themselves in a bind: Stray too far from public opinion (even if constitutional principles seem to compel doing so), and they risk vilification and loss of the public’s confidence on which they, to an extent, depend for legitimacy. But ignore the reality of the litigants before them, and they run the risk [...]
The Limits of Religious Liberty
It’s vital for a trial judge, and for a jury, to be able to assess the credibility of witnesses. As we all know, credibility is a complex determination that relies on all kinds of conscious and unconscious verbal, physical, and facial cues. But what happens when religion interferes with one of those cues?
In this story, [...]
The Senator and the Justice — Cornyn’s Selective Outrage
Senator Cornyn is being given a pass on his audacity. Today, he asked soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor about whether a decision in favor of marriage equality would be “interpreting” or “making” law. The implication, of course, is that such a holding would be “making law” and therefore illegitimate.
To her credit, Sonomayor was (barely) [...]
Empathy and Activism: A Look at Senator Cornyn’s Own Judicial Record
During the Sotomayor hearings, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas has been among the most aggressive questioners. He seems particularly overwrought about the nominee’s statements that her experience as a Latina would somehow affect, or even improve, her decision-making. (Of course, the would-be justice has run as far from those comments as possible.) He and other [...]
Prop 8 Decision to Come Down Tomorrow? Here’s What to Look For.
With a limited number of days remaining in which the California Supreme Court can hand down its monumental decision regarding the validity of Prop 8, the first murmuring has just been heard that tomorrow may be D-Day. (The story notes that police barricades are being moved into place in San Francisco, likely in anticipation of [...]
Dignity: Who Has It, and Why Do We Care (or, Dignity, Schmignity?)
How much would I care about my dignity if no else had any, either?
The question scarcely makes any sense, because dignity is valued only in relation to others, of course. It’s closely related to “esteem,” a regard in which most of us want to be held; I’d rather be the “estimable me” than not.
The matter [...]
Equality Forum: The International Equality Dinner Starring the One and Only Gavin Newsom
Talk about your gala events!
Well, for $200 a plate, Saturday night’s International Equality Dinner needed to be a fabulous, star-studded affair, and it was. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a true ally of the gay and lesbian community since forever, was Honorary Chair and delivered his usually warm, amusing, and affirming speech. With no elections left [...]
Equality Forum Day 5: What Now?
After a political eternity, several bills directly relevant to LGBT equality are queued up before Congress. In order of both expected ease of passage and anticipated timeline, these are: hate crimes, which has already passed the U.S. House, and is expected to navigate the more treacherous waters of the Senate and be signed, possibly within [...]