Civil & Human Rights

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

On the first day that same-sex couples can marry in New Jersey as a result of last week's state Supreme Court ruling, Governor Chirs Christie has decided to drop his appeal before the state's high court. The New York Times reports, Christie Drops Appeal of Gay Marriage Ruling in New Jersey:

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey announced on Monday that he would drop his legal challenge to same-sex marriage, hours after gay couples started exchanging vows in midnight ceremonies across the state.

Mr. Christie’s withdrawal of his appeal to the court decision that
allowed the marriages came on the heels of a ruling by the State Supreme
Court on Friday that rejected his attempt to block the marriages until
the appeal was resolved. His decision effectively removed the last
hurdle to making same-sex marriage legal in New Jersey.

“Although the governor strongly disagrees with the court substituting
its judgment for the constitutional process of the elected branches or a
vote of the people, the court has now spoken clearly as to their view
of the New Jersey Constitution and, therefore, same-sex marriage is the
law,” a spokesman for Mr. Christie said in a note to reporters on Monday
morning. “The governor will do his constitutional duty and ensure his
administration enforces the law as dictated by the New Jersey Supreme
Court.”

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Yet another marriage equality case is heading to trial in the courts, this time in Michigan. Case Against Michigan Ban on Gay Unions Is Sent to Trial:

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that a case contesting Michigan’s ban
on same-sex marriage would go to trial early next year, one among some 30 such challenges playing out in courthouses around the nation.

Here, advocates for same-sex marriage and even some opponents had speculated that the judge, Bernard A. Friedman, of the Eastern District of Michigan, might go further and overturn the state’s nine-year-old constitutional amendment on marriage as early as Wednesday.

[A] representative for Bill Schuette, the
Michigan attorney general, whose office has defended the state’s ban,
issued a directive to county clerks in the event that the judge ruled
against the state, advising them that they were forbidden to issue
marriage licenses to same-sex couples until appeals were completed.

In the end, Judge Friedman delayed an answer to the issue, instead
suggesting that a trial, set for Feb. 25, would examine a central legal
question surrounding the issue in Michigan, but also elsewhere: whether
the rationales for a ban on same-sex marriage serve a legitimate state
interest.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Breaking news today: New Jersey Supreme Court greenlights gay marriage starting Monday:

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Friday said gay marriages can begin taking place starting Monday, brushing aside a request from Gov. Chris Christie's (R) administration for a delay as it appeals.

"We conclude that the State has not made the necessary showing to
prevail … and that the public interest does not favor a stay," the judges wrote. "We therefore deny the State's motion for a stay."

The court ruled [unanimously] that the state has "not shown a reasonable
probability it will succeed on the merits," which will be argued in
January.

Christie's administration is appealing a lower-court ruling from
last month that legalized gay marriage, but his press secretary Michael
Drewniak said in a statement Friday the governor will comply with the
ruling.

"The Supreme Court has made its determination," Drewniak  said. "While
the Governor firmly believes that this determination should be made by
all the people of the State of New Jersey, he has instructed the
Department of Health to cooperate with all municipalities in
effectuating the order of the Superior Court under the applicable law."

The court scheduled oral arguments for early January.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is one of the leading intellectual leaders of the conservative movement. He is a sought after speaker at conservative events.

Judge Posmer wrote the majority opinion for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in the Indiana voter I.D. case, and his majority opinion was the foundation for the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Crawford v. Marion County Election Bd., 128 S. Ct. 1610 (2008).

Rick Hasen at electionlawblog.com reports Breaking: Judge Posner Admits He Was Wrong in Crawford Voter ID Case:

Wow.

My transcription from HuffPostLive:

In response to Mike Sacks’s questions about whether Judge Posner and
the 7th circuit got it wrong in Crawford case, the one upholding
Indiana’s tough voter id law against constitutional challenge:

“Yes. Absolutely. And the problem is that there hadn’t been that much
activity with voter identification. And … maybe we should have been
more imaginative… we…. weren’t really given strong indications that
requiring additional voter identification would actually disfranchise
people entitled to vote. There was a dissenting judge, Judge Evans,
since deceased, and I think he is right. But at the time I thought what
we were doing was right. It is interesting that the majority opinion was
written by Justice Stevens, who is very liberal, more liberal than I
was or am….  But I think we did not have enough information. And of
course it illustrates the basic problem that I emphasize in book.  We
judges and lawyers, we don’t know enough about the subject matters that
we regulate, right? And that if the lawyers had provided us with a lot
of information about the abuse of voter identification laws, this case
would have been decided differently.”