Gay marriage foes jumped at the chance to appeal Judge Vaughn Walker's decision striking down Prop. 8 and formally filed an appeal Thursday morning.
If heard, the case will head to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has no deadlines to hear the case, according toKTXL in Sacramento. A three-judge panel will be chosen at random to decide the appeal; they will likely ask for written arguments from both sides before scheduling a hearing.
Walker has a hearing scheduled for Friday where the issue of if and when same-sex California couples can begin marrying again will be addressed — he has stayed his decision on that matter until at least Friday, but it's expected on Friday that he will stay the matter until the 9th Circuit makes its decision.
After the 9th Circuit does makes its decision, the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case will almost certainly land in the lap of the Supreme Court. Many believe the high court's decision hinges on Justice Anthony Kennedy, who often provides a swing vote. Marriage equality supporters are heartened by Walker's wording of his decision, which legal experts view as rational and well thought out. Walker's main points — that Prop. 8 violates the Constitution's equal protection and due process clauses, and that a simple notion that straight couples are superior to gay couples is not a sound basis for law — may be difficult to refute by lawyers and the judges of the 9th Circuit and the Supreme Court.
"If the Supreme Court does not want to uphold same-sex marriage, its job has been made harder by this decision," Northwestern Law School professor Andrew Koppelman told The New York Times. "They are supposed to take as true facts found by the district court, unless they are clearly erroneous."
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