Assoc. Dean Amar Comments on Prop. 8 Hearing for KQED
Associate Dean Vikram Amar commented for a KQED news report on the upcoming U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit hearing on Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal court suit that overturned Proposition 8, California's same-sex marriage ban. Amar said that the hearing, scheduled for December 6, may hinge on whether supporters of Prop. 8 have standing to challenge the federal court decision. In fact, Amar said, if the Ninth Circuit decides that the challengers do not have standing, it could mean that the plaintiffs win in a default judgment, which would mean the case would have no ramifications for marriages other than those of the two same-sex couples who challenged the initiative.
"The standing issue is something that's been lurking a long time and people haven't been giving it as much attention as it warranted earlier in the case, but I think the Ninth Circuit is really going to take it quite seriously," Amar said. His interview is available as streaming audio on the KQED website.
Vikram Amar, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law with the UC Davis School of Law, is a national authority in the fields of constitutional law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, and remedies. His biweekly column for FindLaw.com, a leading provider of online legal information, centers on his expertise in constitutional law.