The Predicatble Court

Yesterday afternoon the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-conservative 4-liberal voted to ban cameras at the Proposition 8 trial currently underway in the 9th Circuit Court is San Francisco. This was a decision that may have a much greater impact on the lower court's finding. That ruling will undoubtedly end up in the hands of this Supreme Court, regardless of how the lower court rules. It is not a stretch to consider that if they are going to vote along politically ideological lines on a matter as silly as this one, then it's seems unlikely that a different outcome will occur when this case gets to them.

There's just one problem, and it's the same issue I brought up back when this was still on the ballot. There's one pesky phrase in both California's and the United States constitutions that cannot be ignored: Equal protection under the law for all citizens. You cannot legally bar one citizen or group of citizens from enjoying the same rights as any other citizen or group. No where in either document offers and exclusions to the equal protection guarantee. Prop 8 was illegal from its inception and cannot legally be enforced.

Of course, that minor detail was lost on the voters of California and apparently means nothing to the Supreme Court as well. There is another problem facing this court; the Supreme Court has already ruled that marriage is a constitutionally protected right. I don't really see how they can worm around those two issues, but I suspect they'll try to find a way.

Then again, they can avoid the whole thing by simply refusing to hear the case and let stand the federal court's decision...which is exactly the stand they will take if the anti-gay marriage people prevail.

I wish I had more faith in our judicial system, and I sincerely hope that both the judge in San Francisco and those nine people in Washington read the document that they are charged with upholding, regardless of their personal beliefs.