Calif. Supreme Court Will Not Order Governor and Attorney General to Defend Prop. 8

San Francisco, CA – The California Supreme Court late yesterday turned down a petition filed by Pacific Justice Institute that had requested the Court to compel Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to defend Prop. 8. The Court offered no explanation for its two-sentence denial of PJI’s petition.

Earlier Wednesday, the Governor and Attorney General filed separate briefs at 9 a.m. opposing PJI’s petition. PJI filed a response at noon, and the Court issued its decision around 4 p.m.

In his brief, the Governor asserted that he had ‘complete discretion” in conducting legal strategy for the state. Meanwhile, Attorney General Brown claimed that it would be “frivolous” to appeal the first-of-its-kind decision by Judge Walker finding a federal constitutional right to gay marriage.

PJI president Brad Dacus commented, “The refusal of the Governor and Attorney general to defend Prop. 8 is not a legal strategy, it is an abdication of their duties as the legal representatives of the People of California. They do not get to pick and choose which laws they will defend.”