This morning the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry, Case No. 12-144. In Hollingsworth, Respondents are challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the voter passed initiative ending same-sex marriages in California. Proposition 8 was found unconstitutional at both the trial court and the appellate court levels and at the end of 2012, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
Read and/or download the transcript here.
Listen to the audio of the oral argument here.
We will post our thoughts on the arguments in the next few days. Though all agree that it is nearly impossible to predict a ruling based solely on the oral arguments, thus far, many of those present have indicated they expect the Court to dismiss the case based upon jurisdictional issues or to dismiss the case based on a conclusion that it ‘improvidently granted’ certiorari, meaning it should not have agreed to hear it in the first place. If either of those occurs, then one of the two lower court rulings will stand, Prop 8 will be struck down as unconstitutional and same-sex marriages will begin again in California. However, a ruling from the Supreme Court is not expected until late June 2013.