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Out of Her Hands?

Kamala Harris, San Francisco's district attorney and candidate for California attorney general, refuses to support Prop. 8 in court, but will her opinion come into play in the appeal?

KAMALA HARRIS 1 X390 | ADVOCATE.COM

Whether the candidates for governor and attorney general of California really have strong feelings about marriage equality or they just think can use the issue to get elected to office, all four have made their stances clear. Democratic attorney general Jerry Brown won’t defend Proposition 8 in court, while his GOP gubernatorial opponent, Meg Whitman, would if given the chance. Los Angeles County Republican district attorney Steve Cooley, running for attorney general, also would defend Prop. 8, while San Francisco DA and Democratic candidate for attorney general Kamala Harris will not.

“It would be inappropriate for a state on the verge of bankruptcy to use all of those resources to defend a law found to be unconstitutional,” Harris tells The Advocate.

It’s virtually impossible for Harris or Cooley (or Whitman) to get involved in the appeal of federal judge Vaughn Walker’s August 4 decision to overturn Prop. 8. A three-judge panel of the ninth circuit court of appeals will decide this winter if proponents of Prop. 8 even have standing to appeal, since the defendants in the case involving the gay marriage ban — current governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and current attorney general Jerry Brown — refuse to argue with Walker’s decision. The three judges will delve into the matter during the week of December 6, but whoever is elected the new governor and attorney general won’t take office until January — too late to defend, or not defend, Prop. 8. The next AG or governor will likely not be allowed even to file amicus briefs, according to some legal experts.

Harris says she may be able to voice her opinion when it comes to other jurisdictions trying to intervene in the Prop. 8 appeal, as California’s conservative Imperial County hopes to do.

“I can imagine a scenario where the attorney general could render an opinion as to the feasibility of a county having jurisdiction to appeal,” Harris says. “Another role of [attorney general] is to use the position as a bully pulpit in support of people who need a voice.”

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Reader Comments
  • Name: Dan
    Date posted: 8/27/2010 12:32:31 PM
    Hometown: Boston

    Comment:

    It is so nice to see that the Attorney General candidates on the Republican side are willing to obstruct justice based on their personl beliefs. I believe the Attorney General is supposed to protect all of their constituents, not just those they deem morally acceptable. They should hope that ignorance is never punishable by law or the prisons will be overflowing!

  • Name: Mark
    Date posted: 8/26/2010 9:21:12 PM
    Hometown: WF

    Comment:

    Only one minority group in the US is being denied the constitutional right of equality (military, civil marriage, donating blood and sperm, being a Boy Scout) and that is born gay/lesbian citizens/taxpayers. We need more openly gay/lesbian judges and legislators.



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