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PROP 8 STANDING DECISION: EXPERTS FROM LEADING UCLA RESEARCH INSTITUTE ON LGBT LAW & POLICY AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA AVAILABILITY FOR NOVEMBER 17, 2011

TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW, CONTACT: Cathy Renna, cathy@rennacommunications.com, 917-757-6123

PROP 8 STANDING DECISION: EXPERTS FROM LEADING UCLA RESEARCH INSTITUTE ON LGBT LAW & POLICY AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 17, 2011 – Today at 10 AM PST (1 PM EST), the California Supreme Court will issue its opinion on the standing of proponents of Proposition 8, the initiative passed in 2008 that bans same-sex couples from marrying. The Court’s ruling, a response to a certified question sent to it by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, will determine whether the proponents have “particularized interests” in the case, and whether the proponents are allowed under state law to act in place of state officials, who have declined to defend Proposition 8. If the proponents ultimately are found not to have standing to press their appeal of Judge Walker’s decision that Prop 8 is unconstitutional, that ruling would stand as the last word in the case. In light of the significance of the standing issue, the Williams Institute, a leading research institute on sexual orientation and gender identity law and policy, will make one of its leading scholars, Jennifer Pizer, available for interview.

While today’s ruling will not have any immediate consequence for the rights of same-sex couples in California to marry, it will determine the next step for the Perry v. Brown case against Proposition 8. Following today’s decision, a three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit will again take up the Perry case in order to determine the proponents’ federal standing. Should both courts decide that the proponents have the respective standing, the appeal of Judge Vaughn Walker’s 2010 Perry ruling, which declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional, will resume, potentially leading to an en banc appeal to the full Ninth Circuit, with potential national implications for same-sex marriage. Should both courts rule that the proponents lack the necessary standing, Judge Walker’s ruling will be upheld, allowing same-sex couples in California to resume marriages and preventing the case from being appealed to a higher court. In any event, the Ninth Circuit court will be the ultimate determinant of the proponents’ standing.

Jennifer C. Pizer, Legal Director and Arnold D. Kassoy Senior Scholar of Law, was formerly Senior Counsel at Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, and taught at USC Law School, Loyola Law School, and Whittier Law School before joining UCLA. A graduate of Harvard College and New York University School of Law, Pizer is published on a range of policy and legal issues regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. She has also commented extensively on LGBT legal developments for leading print and broadcast media and the legal press, and has received numerous professional achievement and community service awards.

Pizer can speak to:

● Why today’s decision is a significant prologue to the eventual Ninth Circuit ruling
● How the Ninth Circuit might rule on the standing question in light of today’s decision by the CA Supreme Court
● How same-sex couples in California – married and unmarried – would benefit from marriage being re-opened to them in their home state
● How marriage equality will benefit all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in California
● How same-sex couples in other states would likely seek to marry in California
● How a decision ultimately upholding or reversing Judge Walker’s ruling would impact the marriage equality issue nationwide

About the Williams Institute

The Williams Institute advances sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy through rigorous, independent research and scholarship, and disseminates it to judges, legislators, policymakers, media and the public. A national think tank at UCLA Law, the Williams Institute produces high-quality research with real-world relevance. For more information, go to: http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/home.html