Courts

An outspoken gay marriage opponent, and one of five defendants in the case challenging California’s Proposition 8, has asked to be removed from the lawsuit over fear the trial publicity that would endanger him and his family. Hak-Shing William Tam was one of five people who formally intervened to defend the state from a federal […]

Next week’s trial in San Francisco of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, won’t be televised live, but it will be videotaped for delayed internet release on YouTube, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. “This certainly is a case that has sparked widespread interest,” U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker said at a […]

The lesbian sister of Proposition 8 mastermind Frank Schubert has announced her candidacy for Sacramento County Superior Court judge, according to the Bay Area Reporter. At her campaign Web site, Anne Marie Schubert, a deputy district attorney for Sacramento County, promotes herself as a law and order and victim’s rights candidate with several endorsements from […]

Proposition 8 supporters this week urged a federal judge to reject a proposal to televise the upcoming trial challenging to California’s ban on same-sex marriage. In a filing with U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who will preside over the case on the law’s constitutionality, Proposition 8 sponsors said that TV coverage of the trial could […]

From Reuters: The biggest U.S. gay rights battle next year is brewing in a California federal court as raucous fights over same-sex marriage in state legislatures and at state ballot boxes subside. In part, 2010 will reflect a growing move by same-sex marriage advocates to building support for their civil rights cause outside of the […]

Gay marriage supporters challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8 lost their bid Friday to see the internal communications of those who supported the initiative when an appeals court ruled that disclosure would violate the 1st Amendment, reports the LA Times. In a unanimous ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit of Appeals tossed out the order that […]

ALBANY — The state’s highest court on Thursday upheld policies giving some government benefits to same-sex couples who are legally married outside the state, but did not rule on whether gay marriage should be legal in New York, leaving that issue for the Legislature to decide, the New York Times reports. Though the majority in […]

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s domestic partner registry. The court offered no explanation in an order issued Tuesday. The law took effect in August, allowing gay couples to register with counties so they could get about 40 of the 150 rights afforded married couples, such as hospital visitation rights. Wisconsin […]

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in San Francisco refused Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging California’s Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, and ordered a trial on whether the measure denies fundamental rights to gays and lesbians, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker (pictured) has said repeatedly […]

From The New York Times: ALBANY — New York’s highest court heard arguments in two cases on Tuesday that could have profound effects on the battle over same-sex marriage. The cases, which the court, the New York State Court of Appeals, is considering jointly, concern relatively narrow executive and administrative orders in recent years that […]