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These witnesses will testify for the Plaintiffs’ side Tuesday January 19th. They are San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, Dr. M.V. Lee Badgett, and Ryan Kendall. For more information on these witnesses, please see the Witness section of the FDL Prop 8 Trial Hub.
Tuesday, I will be live-blogging here at The Seminal; David Dayen will be live-blogging at the FDL News Desk. We’ll try to link up one another’s posts as we move between them; check both places as needed for up-to-the-minute liveblogging.
And please support our liveblogging efforts with your contributions!
Jerry Sanders is the current Mayor and former Police Chief of the City of San Diego, California. He is also the father of two daughters, one of whom is a lesbian. He will testify about his decision, as Mayor of San Diego, to support and not veto the City of San Diego’s participation in an amicus brief advocating against the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and why he concluded supporting marriage equality was and is in the best interest of the local government and community. He will also testify about his experience as the father of a lesbian daughter who cannot legally marry under California law.
M.V. Lee Badgett, PhD is a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She will testify about the private harms and public costs caused by Prop. 8, differences between marriage and domestic partnership, and the impact of same-sex marriage on the marriages of different-sex couples.
Ryan Kendall is a gay man who was subjected to “conversion therapy” in his youth. He will testify about how sexual orientation discrimination and “conversion therapy” affected him.
9 Comments
Teddy, thanks for keeping us updated!
I’m looking forward to it.
SO glad “conversion therapy” is being added to the mix.
I predict that Kendall will hardly be crossexamined at all and that Badgett will attract the lions share of the pro-8 folks time.
My bet is that they’ll attempt to obfuscate Badgett’s with “studies” of their own, some from before I was born.
It’s like they’re appealing to a jury prejudices, but their “jury” is Judge Walker. And he’s not impressed with their appeal.
Boxturtle (I doubt they’ve done anything for Justice Kennedy, either)
I loved Sanders’ statement. Wish I could be there to hear him.
The Pro-8 folks will likely attack Sanders as a politician pandering to the strong gay community in San Fran.
I’m thinking that won’t exactly resonate with Walker, either.
Here’s a thought: If, as seems likely, Walker overturns prop 8, does he issue a stay of his order for the inevitable appeal or does he rule that the pro-8 folks have so little chance of succeeding on appeal that a stay isn’t needed?
Boxturtle (Betting he issues the stay, but it’s not a given)
IANAL, so I can’t opine from that POV. But Walker seems intent on giving the defense every deference so they don’t have any complaints going up the legal ladder.
Quite true. He’s very thorough. In a sane world that would impress the Supremes.
But this isn’t a sane world.
anyone know when this is going to get started today?