Next week the Supreme Court will hear argument on the historic case regarding Prop 8, the amendment to the California Constitution that banned same-sex marriage. The lawyers arguing against Prop 8 represent an interesting “marriage” of sorts: David Boies and Ted Olson. Boies is a liberal Democrat, well known for many important cases, including representing Al Gore in Bush v. Gore, the case that decided the presidency in 2000. Olson actually argued against Boies in that case, representing George Bush. It is a unique and powerful combination of lawyers that more often argue against each other.
The pair are more optimistic than most about their likelihood of success in the Prop 8 case. Here is a video of an interview with Boies in which he predicts a better than 5-4 win. For the record, I think they are going to win too.
6 Comments
Aisana Aitzhanova posted on March 19, 2013 at 1:50 pm
It is interesting how the editor mentioned that perhaps states should leave marriage to church and get out of it. Like Boies said it is very unlikely that states would do that and i agree. Marriage is about constitutional rights and has been argued in court for a long time. Let’s hope that Boies and Professor are right and the win will be more favorable than 5-4, it is about time equality dominates in this society.
Nicole Pellegrino posted on March 21, 2013 at 9:43 am
“They cannot engage in unconstitutional discrimination.” I really think thats the problem. A lot of the controversial cases throughout history have dealt with all different kinds of discrimination. Based on history, i think it’s only a matter of time until discrimination of gay marriage is a thing of the past. I also found it interesting that the interviewer asked if the lawyer thinks that one day states wont be involved in marriage at all. Why is the government involved in marriage in the first place?
Daniel Mello posted on March 21, 2013 at 8:50 pm
They will certainly win… if they even make it that far. With the recent questions stemming from Article III and the Supreme Court, many of us wonder whether Hollingsworth will even have the chance to represent the case before the Supreme Court.
Kristen Kruczkowski posted on March 23, 2013 at 3:48 pm
I definitely think that Proposition 8 should be overturned. However, I am skeptical to say that this will definitely be the case. As mentioned in the article, all of the justices grew up in a generation where gay marriage was frowned upon. However, because of the huge age gap, my generation is a lot more accepting of gay marriage than the justices’ generation. It is hard for me to predict what will happen. I think that if the justices can avoid making a decision altogether, then that’s what they will do. No matter what they decided, there will be people who will be upset. I do not think it will be as much of a landslide victory as Boies predicts.
Reem Abokhodair posted on March 25, 2013 at 12:27 pm
Times have changed and the judges know that. The question is will they allow for change to happen now or leave it for the inevitable future? Personally, I also predict that the win will be more favorable than 5-4.
Robin Wan posted on March 25, 2013 at 9:22 pm
I believe that California’s Prop 8 will be overturned as Americans are becoming more acceptable of same sex marriage. As revealed in today’s CNN poll, “53% of Americans support same-sex marriage; 57% say they have a family member or close friend who is gay.” What Boise, the attorney for gay marriage, is true that most of the nine sitting justices “my age and older” and have grown up in an environment “hostility to homosexual.” The nine justices who will be deciding this course do not represent the view of the entire American population. Therefore, the justices have a difficult case, where they must balance their personal views and the people’s view on gay marriage to make a monumental decision that will affect future of gay couples.