Can Prop. 8 proponents defend marriage when Calif. officials refuse to do so?
Press conference that includes ADF attorney will follow hearing at California Supreme Court, which will answer question from 9th Circuit
Friday, Sep 2, 2011
ADF attorney audio bite: Austin R. Nimocks
ADF attorney video bite: Jim Campbell (easy viewing) | Jim Campbell (broadcast quality)
WHO: Lead counsel for ProtectMarriage.com Charles J. Cooper, ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks, and others
WHAT: Press conference following hearing in Perry v. Brown
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 6, immediately following hearing, which begins at 10 a.m. PDT
WHERE: Supreme Court of California, 350 McAllister St., First Floor, San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO — Attorneys defending California’s constitutional amendment protecting marriage as the union of a man and a woman will hold a press conference Tuesday immediately following a hearing before the California Supreme Court. Alliance Defense Fund attorneys are part of the ProtectMarriage.com legal team that is defending the amendment.
“Voters should not be left without any defense just because their officials refused to defend them,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks, who will participate in the press conference. “Because the people of California have a right to be defended, the official proponents of Proposition 8 need to be allowed to step in and defend California’s marriage amendment. Otherwise, state officials will succeed in indirectly invalidating a measure that they had no power to strike down directly.”
Lead counsel Charles J. Cooper of the Cooper & Kirk law firm will argue before the court and will also participate in the press conference.
The hearing concerns a question that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has asked the California Supreme Court to answer in the federal lawsuit: “Whether under Article II, Section 8 of the California Constitution, or otherwise under California law, the official proponents of an initiative measure possess either a particularized interest in the initiative’s validity or the authority to assert the State’s interest in the initiative’s validity, which would enable them to defend the constitutionality of the initiative upon its adoption or appeal a judgment invalidating the initiative, when the public officials charged with that duty refuse to do so.”
“Ultimately, this hearing concerns whether the people of California who voted for Proposition 8 will be defended at all,” Nimocks explained.
ProtectMarriage.com is the banner organization for the official proponents and campaign committee of California’s Proposition 8.
WHAT: Press conference following hearing in Perry v. Brown
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 6, immediately following hearing, which begins at 10 a.m. PDT
WHERE: Supreme Court of California, 350 McAllister St., First Floor, San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO — Attorneys defending California’s constitutional amendment protecting marriage as the union of a man and a woman will hold a press conference Tuesday immediately following a hearing before the California Supreme Court. Alliance Defense Fund attorneys are part of the ProtectMarriage.com legal team that is defending the amendment.
“Voters should not be left without any defense just because their officials refused to defend them,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks, who will participate in the press conference. “Because the people of California have a right to be defended, the official proponents of Proposition 8 need to be allowed to step in and defend California’s marriage amendment. Otherwise, state officials will succeed in indirectly invalidating a measure that they had no power to strike down directly.”
Lead counsel Charles J. Cooper of the Cooper & Kirk law firm will argue before the court and will also participate in the press conference.
The hearing concerns a question that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has asked the California Supreme Court to answer in the federal lawsuit: “Whether under Article II, Section 8 of the California Constitution, or otherwise under California law, the official proponents of an initiative measure possess either a particularized interest in the initiative’s validity or the authority to assert the State’s interest in the initiative’s validity, which would enable them to defend the constitutionality of the initiative upon its adoption or appeal a judgment invalidating the initiative, when the public officials charged with that duty refuse to do so.”
“Ultimately, this hearing concerns whether the people of California who voted for Proposition 8 will be defended at all,” Nimocks explained.
ProtectMarriage.com is the banner organization for the official proponents and campaign committee of California’s Proposition 8.
- Fact sheet on the case
- Pronunciation guide: Nimocks (NIM’-ucks)
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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