Vaughn Walker FEDERAL JUDGE B

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VAUGHN WALKER FEDERAL JUDGE b. 1944 “Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.” As a federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Northern California, Vaughn Walker ruled as unconstitutional California’s Prop 8 prohibition of same sex-marriage. Vaughn Walker Born in Watseka, Illinois, Walker attended the University of Michigan and was a is a federal judge Woodrow Wilson Fellow in economics at the University of California at Berkeley. He attended Stanford Law School and practiced law in San Francisco. who ruled that In 1987 President Ronald Reagan nominated Walker for a judgeship. The same-sex marriage is a nomination was stalled due to Walker’s previous representation of the U.S. Olympic constitutional right. Committee in a lawsuit that disallowed the use of the title “Gay Olympics.” House Democrats, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, accused him of being insensitive to the LGBT community. In 1989 when President George H. W. Bush renominated Walker for a seat on the federal district court, Walker was confirmed unanimously. He presided over numerous important cases, including drug legalization, NSA surveillance without a warrant, antitrust, mergers and copyright infringement. In 2010 Walker presided over Hollingsworth v. Perry, the landmark case that challenged California’s Proposition 8, a ballot initiative eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry. Walker ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional. His decision influenced subsequent state and federal marriage equality cases, including Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. After retiring from the bench in 2011, Walker came out and acknowledged his decade-long same-sex relationship. He maintained a private practice in San Francisco and lectured at Stanford University Law School and the University of California Berkeley School of Law. The Bar Association of San Francisco honored him with its the Tara J. Riedley Barristers Choice Award. www.lgbtHistoryMonth.com Copyright © 2017 – A Project of Equality Forum.

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Prop 8 Trial Video 9Th Circuit Ruling Presskit
CITY ATTORNEY DENNIS HERRERA STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: MATT DORSEY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012 (415) 554-4662 Herrera expresses disappointment with ruling on Prop 8 trial video ‘Public trial records—including video records—should serve to inform our national debates, not be withheld from them,’ Herrera says SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 2, 2012)—A federal appeals court today ruled against publicly releasing the video record of a 2010 U.S. District Court trial challenging the validity of Proposition 8, the narrowly passed state constitutional amendment that eliminated marriage rights for same-sex couples in California. The decision is only one aspect in the broader legal battle currently before a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel. No ruling has yet been issued on the merits of the appeal of former Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s Aug. 4, 2010 holding that Prop 8 was unconstitutional. In response to the Ninth Circuit panel’s decision to withhold the video record of the trial, City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued the following statement: “A free society deserves maximum transparency in the conduct of the public’s business to the full extent our technology allows, and that’s why I’m disappointed with today’s decision. The issue of marriage equality continues to be one of national importance, as we’re seeing now in the State of Washington. Public trial records—including video records—should serve to inform our national debates, not be withheld from them.” Herrera’s brief in the dispute argued against giving credence to Prop 8 proponents’ continuing narrative in the case to justify withholding the video record, “the myth that they, rather than gay men and lesbians whose equal citizenship they have continued to deny, are the victims here; that they or their witnesses are at risk of persecution or harassment because of their speech or religious beliefs….” The City intervened in the federal challenge to Prop 8 alongside the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which filed the case on behalf of two California couples in May 2009.
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noyes 00 fmt autoF2 1/9/14 9:11 AM Page iii The Law of Direct Democracy Henry S. Noyes Professor of Law Fowler School of Law Chapman University Carolina Academic Press Durham, North Carolina noyes 00 fmt autoF2 1/9/14 9:11 AM Page iv Copyright © 2014 Henry S. Noyes All Rights Reserved ISBN 978-1-61163-276-7 LCCN 2013952136 Carolina Academic Press 700 Kent Street Durham, North Carolina 27701 Telephone (919) 489-7486 Fax (919) 493-5668 www.cap-press.com Printed in the United States of America noyes 00 fmt autoF2 1/9/14 9:11 AM Page v For Shana, Charlie and Edie. And Nini and Dampah. noyes 00 fmt autoF2 1/9/14 9:11 AM Page vi noyes 00 fmt autoF2 1/9/14 9:11 AM Page vii Contents List of Tables xiii Table of Cases xv Preface xxv Editorial Note xxvii Introduction xxix The Early History of Same- Sex Marriage in California xxx Proposition 22: The Statutory Initiative xxx San Francisco Rejects Proposition 22 xxxi The Legislature and the Governor Respond xxxii In Re Marriage Cases xxxii Proposition 8: The People Respond to the Courts xxxv Strauss v. Horton xxxvi Same- Sex Marriage Supporters Make It a Federal Case xl Perry v. Schwarzenegger xl An Issue of Standing: Who Will Defend Prop 8? xlii Perry v. Brown xliii On to the U.S. Supreme Court xlv Perry v. Brown xlv Hollingsworth v. Perry xlvii The Same- Sex Marriage Battle — California and Beyond l Chapter One · A Republican Form of Government 3 A.
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Order Granting Preliminary Approval Sutter 20210309
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Proposition 8 (California) the Signs at This Rally in by Claude J
Proposition 8 (California) The signs at this rally in by Claude J. Summers favor of Proposition 8 held on October 26, 2008 in Fresno, Encyclopedia Copyright © 2015, glbtq, Inc. California reflect the Entry Copyright © 2010 glbtq, Inc. religious roots of the Reprinted from http://www.glbtq.com proposition's support. Photograph by Richard Johnstone. Image Proposition 8, also known as the California Marriage Protection Act, was the ballot appears under the proposition that amended the California state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Creative Commons The passage of Proposition 8 sparked large demonstrations throughout California and Attribution ShareAlike inspired new grassroots activism on behalf of gay rights. After prolonged litigation in 2.0 license. both state and federal court, it was finally struck down on June 26, 2013. Passed on November 4, 2008, Proposition 8 added a new provision to the California constitution that declared that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." This wording is the same as Proposition 22, which is sometimes known as the Knight Initiative because it was proposed by homophobic state senator William "Pete" Knight. Proposition 22 was adopted in 2000 as a simple law and was invalidated by the 2008 California Supreme Court's ruling in In re Marriages, which legalized same-sex marriage in California. In response to that ruling, proponents of "traditional" marriage launched a petition drive to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would end same-sex marriage in the state. Background On February 12, 2004, San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom announced that the city would begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
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Motions of Dow Jones & Co., 142 F.3D 496 (D.C
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Will We Finally See Courtroom Debate? Arthur S
digitalcommons.nyls.edu Faculty Scholarship Other Publications 2011 Will We Finally See Courtroom Debate? Arthur S. Leonard New York Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/fac_other_pubs Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, Fourteenth Amendment Commons, and the Law and Gender Commons Recommended Citation Leonard, Arthur S., "Will We Finally See Courtroom Debate?" (2011). Other Publications. 322. https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/fac_other_pubs/322 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at DigitalCommons@NYLS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Other Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@NYLS. 5/23/2018 Will We Finally See Courtroom Debate? - Gay City News | Gay City News Will We Finally See Courtroom Debate? Added by Gay City News on September 28, 2011. Share This Post Saved under News, Legal, National, NYC Prop 8 trial recording may go public — but not on September 30 BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD | More than a year after now-retired federal District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that California’s Proposition 8 violates the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, Chief Judge James Ware, who assumed jurisdiction over the case, granted a motion by the plaintiffs to unseal the video recording of the trial. “Foremost among the aspects of the federal judicial system that foster public confidence in the fairness and integrity of the process are public access to trials and public access to the record of judicial proceedings,” Ware wrote, in a September 19 ruling. “Consequently, once an item is placed in the record of judicial proceedings, there must be compelling reasons for keeping that item secret.” Walker made the recording for his own use after the US Supreme Court ruled, on the eve of the trial, that it could not be broadcast live or recorded for delayed broadcast.
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Proposition 8 Is Unconstitutional, but Not Because the Ninth Circuit Said So
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Protectmarriage.Com California Supreme Court Petition Presskit
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No. 10-16696 (Circuit Judges Stephen
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No. 20-16375 in the UNITED STATES COURT of APPEALS
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Hollingsworth V. Perry
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