Historic civil rights arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court this week

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

This week historic civil rights arguments will he heard in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the rights of gays and lesbians to marriage equality. On Tuesday, the Court will hear Hollingsworth v. Perry, the challenge to California’s Proposition 8, and on Wednesday the Court will hear United States v. Windsor, the challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Spectators started camping out in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday for the handful of public seats available to these historic arguments. You can be certain that both pro and anti gay marriage demonstrators will be out in force in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday to create a circus atmosphere for the Beltway media villagers.

There is a chance that the Court will find that the parties before it do not have proper standing and the Court will pass on reaching a decision on the merits of the cases. Will Standing Trip Up the Supreme Court Gay-Marriage Cases?  Standing was also an issue in the constitutional challenges to the Affordable Care Act ("ObamaCare"), but the Roberts Court wanted to reach a decision on the merits in that case. I don't believe that the Court would have taken these cases for argument unless it wants to render a decision on the merits.

There are numerous argument previews of the cases available online, some of them good, some of them bad. I would recommend that you read the expert legal analysis at SCOTUSblog.com. Peter Landers of the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers recently provided a good overview of the major issues involved in the cases.