Associate Dean Amar Comments for Media on Ninth Circuit Prop. 8 Decision

Vikram Amar, Associate Dean and Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law, commented for media including public radio stations KQED and KXJZ and the Sacramento Bee on the most recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling on California's Proposition 8 and the prospects for a U.S. Supreme Court review of same-sex marriage laws. 

Last week, the Ninth Circuit declined to revisit its February ruling that struck down Prop. 8's ban on same-sex marriage, setting the stage for a Supreme Court review. "What this means now is everything is in front of the Supreme Court," Amar told the Sacramento Bee, noting that the Court may choose to first hear the appeal of the recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit that struck down portions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). 

The Ninth Circuit decided the Prop. 8 case "on very California-specific grounds, so the Supreme Court wouldn't feel it had to intervene and take review," Amar said in a KQED interview.  "The DOMA case raises narrower questions than the Prop. 8 case does. So they may want to look at the DOMA issues and wait a year or more before they take on the more momentous question of whether states have to recognize same-sex marriage, if they want to take up the question of gay marriage a little more incrementally."

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 Justia.com, a leading provider of online legal information, centers on his expertise in constitutional law.

KQED report

KXJZ report

Sacramento Bee article

Primary Category

Tags