On Friday afternoon, District Court Judge Robert Shelby released his ruling stating that the Utah ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
The response was … people getting married!!
And for the State of Utah to ask for a stay, for the governor to tell the counties to wait before complying with federal law (!), and for the County of Salt Lake to promise to issue marriage licenses until the court tells them to stop.
Today at 8am MST, in Salt Lake City, the county clerks office will re-open and more marriages will take place.
At 9am MST, Judge Shelby will hear arguments on whether or not to grant a stay heard arguments and denied the stay.
UPDATE: Tuesday evening 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Denies Utah’s Stay Request
The state can ask the Circuit Justice for the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to review an application for a stay. The Circuit Justice there is Justice Sotomayor. She can decide to grant or deny a stay on her own, or ask the full Court to decide.
We continue to wait and watch … one step closer.
TV news links: KUTV 2, Fox13Now
The ruling and the status of the appeals (newest first):
Tuesday: The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver, has received the state’s request for a stay, asked for and received the plaintiff’s response, and will consider the request and issue a ruling. In the meantime, same-sex marriage licenses continue to be issued (one estimate suggested 300 marriages have already taken place. Some county clerk offices are refusing to issue licenses to same-sex couples (or have closed) in defiance of the federal courts.
Monday evening Plaintiffs filed their response to the State of Utah’s request: PDF from SCOTUSblog
Monday The State of Utah asks for a stay
State officials in Utah asked the Tenth Circuit on Monday to delay same-sex marriages in the state, arguing that a Salt Lake City judge was wrong in striking down a voter-approved ban on those marriages. The move came after U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby refused to delay his own ruling.
Neither the Tenth Circuit nor the Supreme Court has ruled on a state’s power to forbid same-sex marriages, the state pointed out, so “Utah should be allowed to enforce its democratically chosen definition of marriage until the appropriate appellate court of last resort has declared otherwise.”
Monday District Judge Shelby denies stay
With Judge Shelby’s denial of a stay pending appeal, the state has the option to appeal the denial to the Tenth Circuit, where they could grant or deny the stay, despite their earlier denial of the temporary one. (The Tenth Circuit denied the request “without prejudice” to the state re-filing the motion and following proper procedures.) The next step after the appeals court would be a request from the losing party to the Circuit Justice for the Tenth Circuit, who takes up various applications related to cases in that appeals court. The Circuit Justice for the Tenth Circuit is Justice Sonia Sotomayor. She could decide to grant or deny a stay on her own, or ask the full Supreme Court to decide.
Sunday 10th Circuit declines to stay Utah same-sex marriages before district court hearing Monday
The Tenth Circuit has just declined to grant a temporary stay (requested by the state) before [Monday’s] hearing. The appeals court said that they must deny the stay because the state’s request doesn’t address the factors for a stay. They wrote that the state can re-file, if the filing complies with the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and the district court’s local rules.[…]
Along with the Tenth Circuit’s order, the plaintiffs have just filed their opposition to a stay in district court.
The appeal to the ruling has officially been filed and is docketed as 13-4178, Kitchen v. Herbert. Both sides have filed motions.
Saturday, the Salt Lake County DA, Sam Gill said:
“If, and when, there is a Stay of the current order then we will inform the clerk to stop issuing licenses. The issue is left to the legal counsel of each county to respond to the ruling.”
Saturday, Gov. Herbert issued a letter to county clerks:
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert wrote a letter and sent it out to county clerks across Utah Saturday, as many of them stated Friday they were awaiting instruction from state officials about how to proceed after a federal judge struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage.
In the letter, Herbert said state officials are working to appeal the decision and secure a stay on same-sex marriage
Friday Evening Utah Files Request for Stay (PDF from SCOTUSblog)
Friday, the state requested a stay and the judge refused to listen to oral arguments and asked both sides to submit briefs for the hearing Monday
Friday Judge Shelby’s Ruling
“The Constitution protects the choice of one’s partner for all citizens, regardless of their sexual identity,” U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled in a fifty-three-page opinion. He was the second federal judge to nullify a ban imposed by a state’s voters at the ballot box; the first such ruling nullified California’s “Proposition 8″ – a ruling that the Supreme Court left intact in June but without a direct ruling on it.
~~~
The 10th Circuit will hear the expected appeal. The current composition of the court:
Circuit Judges:
– George H. W. Bush appointees – 1
– Clinton appointees – 2 (including chief judge)
– George W. Bush appointees – 4
– Obama appointees – 3
(2 vacancies. Obama has nominated, not confirmed yet)
Senior Judges:
– Lyndon B. Johnson appointees – 1
– Carter appointees – 2
– Reagan appointees – 5
– Clinton appointees – 1
– G.W. Bush appointees -1
Currently like 9 Democratic appointees, 11 Republican appointees. It will be 11 and 11 when President Obama’s nominees are confirmed.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor is the Supreme Court Justice tasked with reviewing emergency motions from the 10th Circuit.
~~
(WARNING: I am not an attorney, I am a simple news aggregator. Please feel free to point out my errors and omissions and I will include them in the diary)
74 comments