Just as the trial of Proposition 8 was about to get underway in Judge Vaughn Walker's courtroom in San Francisco this morning, the US Supreme Court delivered an injunction against the promised video feeds and rebroadcasts of the trial. The injunction, which Justice Steven Breyer objected to, lasts until midday Wednesday when the full court will hear arguments about whether the broadcasts will go forward as planned, be expanded, or be ended entirely.

The Courage Campaign Institute's founder and chair, Rick Jacobs, was able to make it into the Burton Federal Courthouse in downtown San Francisco this morning where the trial is happening. He is liveblogging at the Prop 8 Trial Tracker, a website we launched this morning to monitor and hold accountable the right-wing organizations that are trying to undermine the course of justice.

Jacobs has described fascinating exchanges between Judge Walker and Ted Olson such as this:

The judge is probing extensively whether or not the problem would be solved if the state of California “got out of the marriage business.” He and Olson had a colloquy about whether domestic partnership for all would solve the problem. Olson had to have a note handed to him from his team to say that only opposite-sex couples over 62 can have domestic partnership. Judge Walker is very interested in seeing what change has occurred that should force the federal judiciary to enter the issue. He wants to know what evidence will show that makes the matter worthy of judgment. The judge is very, very smart. This is really, really fascinating. Olson is doing a great job in answering him. “What’s the evidence going to show that Prop. 8” intended to discriminate against gays and lesbians. Olson: no question that Prop. 8 intended to discriminate. We’ll put on evidence from the plaintiffs and others that show how they felt about the campaign, the sentiments that may have been used to motivate the voters.

At the outset of the trial, Judge Walker also made reference to the debate over the broadcast. He said that by 5PM last Friday, 138,542 comments were received in favor of broadcasting the trial - and only 32 were received opposing it. We believe most, if not all, those comments were the result of the petition that the Courage Campaign and CREDO Mobile delivered on Friday to Judge Walker. It is a clear sign that the people want this case tried in full public view, and reject entirely the self-serving arguments of the anti-equality forces, people who are afraid to let the public know their true motives for putting Prop 8 on the ballot.

No matter what happens at the SCOTUS this week, the Courage Campaign Institute will continue to track this trial and the right-wing reaction to it.

We could also use your help in keeping this going. Maintaining the liveblog isn't free - if you can contribute $25, $50, $100 or more to the Courage Campaign Institute, we can continue to maintain the site as the trial unfolds. Thanks.

Below is the email we sent to our members today about the Prop 8 Trial Tracker:   Read More »

Later this month the long-awaited trial of Proposition 8 will commence in a federal courtroom in San Francisco. Judge Vaughn Walker will preside over the case brought by a legal dream team of Ted Olson (former Solicitor General under President Bush) and David Boies (who represented Al Gore in the Bush v. Gore case in 2000). Olson and Boies argue - correctly, in my view - that Proposition 8 is a straightforward violation of the 14th Amendment and should be struck down.

People across California and across the country are eagerly awaiting the trial, and fully expect to be able to follow it on television. But Judge Walker may close the courtroom to cameras, following on an outrageous demand from Prop 8 supporters.

One of the *fundamental* legal principles this country was built on is the openness and transparency of the judiciary. For the system to work, people must believe the process is fair, the outcomes just. And for that to occur, the public needs to be able to see what is going on in the courtroom.

On a case this important, the public's right to know should be protected and upheld in the broadest possible form. That means televising the proceedings. Since this isn't a criminal trial, there's no defendant who could be harmed by having this made public, no jury that could be swayed by the cameras. Since only a tiny handful of people will ever be able to be in the courtroom itself, that would seem like an open and shut case for allowing cameras in the courtroom. Right?

Well, not if you're the forces who put Prop 8 on the ballot and helped it pass. They are afraid of public scrutiny. Afraid of the camera. Afraid to let the people of this country hear the bigoted truth behind their defense of Proposition 8.

They have decided to organize the far-right to pressure Judge Walker to close the courtroom to cameras. Focus on the Family is circulating a petition to prevent the trial from being televised, and have generated tens of thousands of signatures.

Their argument is:

Following a short public-comment period – only five business days – the battle could bring a circus-like atmosphere. Chief Judge Vaughn Walker is considering allowing video cameras in the courtroom.

Ron Prentice, executive director of Protectmarriage.com, is concerned Walker’s decision could cause problems for proponents of Prop. 8 who have already come under attack.

"Intimidation and harassment will continue," Prentice said. "And, those who are put on the stand or are seen in the courtroom may very well be recognized and further intimidation or harassment may continue."

Not only is this ridiculous on its face - the people who have faced genuine "intimidation and harassment" as a result of Prop 8 are the LGBT couples who lost their rights when it passed - but it is a pretty weak reason to deny the public their right to know what is going on in that courtroom. If the Prop 8 supporters want to defend the law, they should have no hesitation to do so in a public manner, on television.

Judge Walker was planning to allow cameras in, but as a result of the Prop 8 supporters' protestations, has agreed to hold a hearing on the matter next week. He is asking for public comments *by this Friday*. So *you have a chance to determine the outcome* - will Prop 8 supporters be able to hide their true arguments, or will the public interest and democratic transparency win out?

The Courage Campaign Institute, where I work as Public Policy Director, isn't going to wait to find out. We're going to organize to deliver petitions of our own to Judge Walker, as he has solicited, in order to uphold the public interest and demand that this trial be televised.

You can sign your name here - along with CREDO Mobile, we will hand deliver the signatures to the court in San Francisco on Friday. Your signature matters - the more signatures we deliver to the court, the more likely it is that he will do the right thing in the name of equality, accountability, and transparency.

Here's the letter I wrote that the Courage Campaign Institute and CREDO are using for our petition:

To the Honorable Judge Vaughn Walker:

We are writing to insist that the trial of Proposition 8 be televised to the public. In any democracy, openness and transparency are necessary to the proper functioning of our courts. Americans have the right to know what is being said and argued in their courts, and allowing cameras in the courtroom to broadcast the trial is the best, most efficient way to provide the transparency to which we are entitled.

This case presents issues that are very important to the public, and will affect millions of people. However, only a tiny fraction will ever be able to watch the trial in person. By televising the trial, the public will be able to see for themselves the arguments and evidence presented by both sides, and will therefore have more confidence in the outcome of the trial.

Justice is blind, but the public is not, and should not be blind in this case. We urge you to uphold the public's right to view this important trial on television.

Please sign it by clicking here. The right-wing, led by James Dobson and Focus on the Family, are already organizing their members to write to the court. Are you going to let them beat us?

This whole episode raises the question of what the Prop 8 supporters have to hide. They haven't been shy about their vocal support for denying equality in the past. Few have faced intimidation and harassment for it.

It's more likely that their true motivation is to prevent the American people from hearing the powerful and compelling case that Boies and Olson are going to make in that courtroom. Both lawyers are expert litigants, and are pursuing a sensible Supreme Court strategy designed to swing Anthony Kennedy to join Stevens, Ginsberg, Breyer and Sotomayor to uphold the 14th Amendment and overturn Prop 8. Kennedy has made rulings favorable to LGBT rights in the past, including /Lawrence v. Texas/ in 2003 which decriminalized sodomy.

Dobson, Prentice and the backers of Prop 8 want to hide that compelling argument from the public. They also want to hide their own anti-equality arguments from public view. In March 2009 they had Kenneth Starr argue in the California Supreme Court that voters can pass whatever they like at the ballot box, a view I label the Starr Doctrine. Such a radical idea won the day in the California Supreme Court, disappointingly enough. But in federal court, the Prop 8 backers seem to want to hide that argument from the American people.

Ironically, that trial in California Supreme Court last March WAS televised. And nobody was intimidated or harassed because of it - well, except for those who lost the right to marry the person they love when the court upheld Prop 8.

There is simply no reasonable justification for keeping cameras out of the courtroom. Thankfully, Judge Walker wants to hear your thoughts on the matter. Take him up on his offer by signing our petition right now.

Below is the urgent email we sent to our members today.   Read More »