Appeals Court Stay is NOT a Big Loss

The 9th Circuit Court granted the stay on Judge Walker's decision. And the gay world almost blew the frak up!

But y'all know me, I don't jump the fence that easily. I knew this could happen, most legal peeps said it would.

But should we be worried? Maybe not, here's an interesting point of view from Ari Ezra Waldman, legal expert.

The Ninth Circuit is fast-tracking the appeal in this case. The three-judge panel should hear arguments in San Francisco in the first week of December. That may sound more like the glacial pace of a snail hitching a ride on the back of a turtle, but in a system where regularly scheduled appeals can take more than a year to be calendared for oral argument, this schedule is Bugs Bunny fast.

The court’s order specifically asked both sides to address the issue of standing.

Standing is a fancy legal word for the right to appeal. And, in this case, there is a substantial question as to whether the Prop. 8 proponents have standing to appeal to the Ninth Circuit.

Normally, the only party that has the right to appeal is the party that was hurt by the lower court’s ruling – namely, when a party has to pay a sum of money or stop violating a law or, in this case, start issuing marriages licenses to same-sex couples.

But, the State of California issues marriage licenses, not a group of anti-gay marriage advocates and citizens. Since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown opposed the stay and do not want to appeal Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling, the parties left to appeal are those not affected by Judge Walker’s order.

The Ninth Circuit is clearly curious about this problem, as well. The judges are wondering how someone not covered or affected by an order have the right to appeal that order.

And

This appeal is just one in a series of steps necessary to win marriage equality rights. While it may be frustrating to wait to exercise our fundamental rights, we are not just in this fight for California.

If this case ended with Judge Walker’s order, we would have marriage equality in California, but it would be of limited precedential weight across the country. Having the imprimatur of an appellate court or, ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court, will do more to advance the cause of marriage equality than one district court order.

This is a battle. Instead of wasting energy ranting and raving, let's prepare for the long haul. Freedom isn't Free.