Associate Dean Amar Cited in The Atlantic's 'Daily Dish' Blog
Associate Dean Vikram Amar was quoted at length on the subject of the federal court appeal of California's Proposition 8 in "The Daily Dish," the popular blog written by Andrew Sullivan and hosted by The Atlantic magazine.
Associate Dean Amar wrote in his online column at FindLaw.com that the case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, is "destined for the Ninth Circuit. But whether it goes any farther depends on what the Ninth Circuit does," suggesting that regardless of which side prevails in the federal court case, the loser will appeal, bringing the issue to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. If the Ninth Circuit invalidates Prop. 8, "then the Supreme Court may very well feel it must take the case, since same-sex marriage would be a federal right west of Rockies but not in most other parts of the country. But if the Ninth Circuit rejects the plaintiffs' claims, don't expect the Supreme Court to take the up the issue of same-sex marriage anytime soon. Still, when the Justices do address some future anti-same-sex-marriage measure enacted into law by a state - and down the road, they may have to do so - they'll have the benefit of the trial record in the Proposition 8 case, as well the opinions and/or evidence from other cases that will have been decided in the interim."
The passage, posted on FindLaw on January 29, was quoted February 2 in the Daily Dish, a blog that reports more than 40 million page views per year.
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.