JURIST - Paper Chase: Ninth Circuit denies new hearing in Proposition 8 case

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Tuesday denied [decision, PDF; case materials] a petition filed by supporters of Proposition 8 [text; JURIST news archive] to rehear their case before the entire court. Proponents of Proposition 8, California's same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] ban, requested a new hearing in February after a three-judge panel voted 2-1 to overturn the law [JURIST reports] earlier that month, finding that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment [Cornell II backgrounder]. The appeal failed when majority of the 25 judges who sit on the Ninth Circuit declined to review the decision. The next step is a potential appeal to the US Supreme Court. Some legal analysts say it is unlikely that the Supreme Court will take the case because the majority opinion focused mainly on California law, not the national standard.

The Ninth Circuit struck down Proposition 8 in February, ruling that the voter-approved [JURIST report] constitutional amendment violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. The Ninth Circuit initially heard arguments on Proposition 8's constitutionality in December 2010, but then asked the California Supreme Court [JURIST reports] to rule on whether defendants had standing to appeal. The high court ruled in November that they did have standing [JURIST report].