Prop. 8 Backers Attack Judge's Impartiality
By Andrew Harmon
Retired U.S. district judge Vaughn R. Walker’s recent acknowledgments that he is gay and in a long-term relationship are grounds for overturning his landmark decision in the federal Proposition 8 case. Or at least that’s what the ballot measure’s backers argued in a Monday court filing, described by one opponent as “desperate and absurd.”
In the 26-page brief, filed in U.S. district court in San Francisco, Prop. 8 supporters argued that Walker should have been disqualified from deciding the case and that his opinion should be tossed, in part because of his “long-term committed relationship
his failure to disclose that relationship at the outset of the case.” Those alleged omissions “give rise to a genuine question concerning his impartiality,” attorney Charles J. Cooper wrote.
Cooper argued that Judge Walker's handling of the case was "marked by a number of irregular and unprecedented rulings" indicating bias. He claimed that Walker ignored previous state and federal court rulings on marriage rights for same-sex couples in his decision striking down Prop. 8 as unconstitutional.
more:
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/04/25/Prop_8_Proponents_Judge_is_Gay/
Here's the statement from AFER's Chad Griffin:
"This motion is yet another in a string of desperate and absurd motions by Prop 8 Proponents who refuse to accept the fact that the freedom to marry is a constitutional right. They're attempting to keep secret the video of the public trial and they're attacking the judge because they disagree with his decision. Clearly, the Proponents are grasping at straws because they have no legal case."
http://gay.americablog.com/2011/04/pro-prop-8-lawyers-want-decision.html