Recordings of the trial that struck down Proposition 8, the California initiative outlawing gay marriage, should be released to the public, a federal judge ordered this week.

 

The 2010 trial was supposed to be streamed over the Internet to courtrooms around the country. But two days into the trial, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to ban the broadcast.

 

Gay rights advocates and media groups filed suit to get the recordings released, and won a ruling on September 19 from U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Ware, who wrote that there was no compelling reason for the tapes to remain sealed.

 

Defenders of Prop. 8 fought against the recordings’ release and plan to appeal the ruling. They say that release of the tapes defies the Supreme Court ruling and they claim that the release will discourage expert witnesses from testifying against same-sex marriage for fear of reprisal from gay activists. Judge Ware dismissed the latter argument as “mere unsupported hypothesis or conjecture which may not be used by the Court as a basis for overcoming the strong presumption in favor of access to court records.”

 

As for the 2010 ruling that threw out the anti-gay marriage law, supporters of Prop. 8 have appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Judge Rules Proposition 8 Trial Video Must Be Unsealed (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press)

Court Rules Prop 8 Tapes Should Be Public (by Chris Johnson, Washington Blade)

Kristin Perry v. Arnold Schwarzenegger (U.S. District Court, Northern California, San Francisco) (pdf)