California Same-sex marriage trial begins

An important trial began yesterday in California challenging California's Proposition 8 that bans same-sex marriage in the state. I think this case will probably lead all the way to the Supreme Court and it will certainly be closely watched. One sign of its significance, the lawyers for the plaintiffs challenging the marriage ban are Ted Olson and David Boies, teamed up here but who famously opposed each other in Bush v Gore (Olson for Bush, Boies for Gore). This one is worth watching closely because most of the arguments we will discuss later in the semester when we read about marriage equality are likely to be made in the course of this trial and in later appellate cases.