Former Solicitor General Ted Olson and David Boies may be headed to the Supreme Court again. A federal judge has stuck down Proposition 8 in California, which banned gay marriage, effectively agreeing with the arguments brought by Olson and Boies who sued to overturn the law on constitutional grounds. The LA Times has excerpts from the judge’s opinion:
Plaintiffs challenge Proposition 8 under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Each challenge is independently meritorious, as Proposition 8 both unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation. . . . Plaintiffs seek to have the state recognize their committed relationships, and plaintiffs’ relationships are consistent with the core of the history, tradition and practice of marriage in the United States.
The decision will likely be appealed to the Ninth Circuit, with the next stop on the Supreme Court where Justice Anthony Kennedy will likely cast the deciding vote. Read the entire ruling here.