Herrera applauds Court for ‘standing up for judicial independence and asserting its rightful role as a coequal branch of government’
SAN FRANCISCO (June 4, 2008) — The California Supreme Court today denied petitions by the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Campaign for California Families to stay its decision in the marriage equality case until after the November 2008 election. The rehearing petitions were denied by a 4-3 vote. Chief Justice Ronald George, and Justices Joyce Kennard, Kathryn Werdegar, and Carlos Moreno voted to deny rehearing. The order further specified that the decision of the court filed on May 15, 2008, will become final on June 16, 2008, at 5 p.m.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued the following statement in response:
“I applaud the Court for standing up for judicial independence and asserting its rightful role as a coequal branch of government. These petitions sought to do something that went far beyond the issue of marriage equality — they sought to politicize our judiciary. It would have been unprecedented to postpone Constitutional rights based on speculation of how an election scenario may or may not play out in the future. I’m gratified by the Court’s decision to deny the rehearing.”
The case is In re Marriage Cases, California Supreme Court, No. S147999.