POLS+353F10+COURT+ONE

Information posted by Court One Sotomoyor- no to prop 8. very civil liberty minded, voted in favor of gay and lesbian rights earlier in her career- Holmes v artuz miller v new york

Kagan: Justice Kagan would strike down prop eight. Since Kagan has not decided on any previous court cases the main argument for her decision would be her strong opposition to the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy that the military has in place. While the Dean at Harvard Law School she banned military requiters from coming to campus. In 2003 Kagan sent out an email to students and faculty at Harvard regarding military recruiters who had come to Harvard in a violation of the school’s anti discriminatory policy. The email read, “This action causes me deep distress. I abhor the military's discriminatory recruitment policy." She also wrote that it was "a profound wrong—a moral injustice of the first order." Due to Kagan's strong voice on this policy regarding gay and lesbian individuals I would therefore believe that she would think that prop 8 would be as well a profound wrong and a moral injustice of the first order.

__Justice Breyer__ would vote to strike down Proposition 8. He believes that judges should refrain from enforcing individual views concerning issues of due process and equal protection. His voting history in cases like //Lawrence// and //Washington// suggest that he would recognize gay marriage as a right protected by the Constitution. (Phil 11/30)

Justice KENNEDY will vote to strike down Proposition 8. Under Proposition 8, members of the same sex may not marry. However, the alternative made available to same-sex couples, domestic partnership, is an inferior institution compared to marriage. The in defendants in //Perry// needed to show that Proposition 8 holds up to strict scrutiny and that a compelling government interest is served. The defendants did not meet this heavy burden. When KENNEDY is faced with a Due Process decision, he will side against “The Texas statute furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual” (//Lawrence//, 18) “There has been no showing that in this country the governmental interest in circumscribing personal choice is somehow more legitimate or urgent” (Lawrence v. Texas, 16) Justice KENNEDY ends his opinion in //Lawrence v. Texas// by speaking about those who ratified the Due Process Clause. He says they did not attempt to provide insight on what exactly the components of liberty are as notions of liberty change through time: “They knew times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress” He continues with a statement supporting civil progressivism “As the constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom.” Out of context these statements would hint at his willingness to extend personal liberties but these closing words are at the end of the decision which overturned //Bowers v. Hardwick//, which I believe makes him more likely to strike down Proposition 8 //.// (Wyatt Berkover, 11/30)

Justice Alito: Alito would vote to strike down Proposition 8. though he is seen as a conservative and has stated before that he is wholeheartedly a Republican, he has shown several times that he will not always take the conservative side on decisions. in his first official act as a Supreme Court judge he voted against lifting a stay of execution on a man on death row in Missouri which was opposite of how Scalia, Thomas, and Roberts voted. also in his days at Princeton he lead a student conference in 1971 called the "Boundaries of Privacy in American Society", that advocated anti-discrimination of gays in the workplace by employers and to decriminalize sodomy laws.

__Justice Antonin Scalia__: Will uphold Proposition 8 and vote against gay marriage as a constitutional right. The most relevant document for information regarding his decision is his dissent in //Lawrence v. Texas//. There is a link to the full dissent under his name on the Justices page. (Farihah K., 11/30/2010)

__**Chief Justice Roberts**__ : Will //uphold// the Proposition 8, thus the Chief Justice will vote against the rights of homosexuals. Chief Justice has had a long history of arguing for current government policies on civil rights issues. Such as Roe v. Wade, Roberts as a lawyer argued that women in Texas should not be allowed the right to abortion. He repeatedly stated so, including in his confirmation hearings. In Romer v. Evans, Roberts as a pro bono lawyer helped set up the strategy for the plaintiffs, which based was based on the platform of striking down an amendment of the Colorado Constitution that protected the rights of homosexuals vs discrimination.

__ Justice Ginsburg: __ will rule against prop 8. Her decision will be based off of her opinion in previous civil rights cases.

Justice Thomas- No for same sex marriage on the basis that it should be left to state to decide. (Blanca A.)