Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al

Filing 555

MOTION for Leave to File a Brief as Amicus Curiae on Behalf of Plaintiffs filed by Donald B. King. (Richmond, Diana) (Filed on 2/3/2010)

Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al

Doc. 555

Case3:09-cv-02292-VRW Document555

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1 DIANA E. RICHMOND (State Bar No. 58122) E-Mail: [e-mail] 2 LOUIS P. FEUCHTBAUM (State Bar No. 219826) E-Mail: [e-mail] 3 SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP One Embarcadero Center, Eighth Floor 4 San Francisco, California 94111-3629 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] 6 Attorneys for Amicus Curiae Justice Donald B. King, California Court of Appeal, Retired 7 8 9
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 8TH FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3629

11 KRISTIN M. PERRY, et al., 12 13 and Plaintiffs,

CASE NO. 09-CV-2292 VRW MOTION BY JUSTICE DONALD B. KING, RETIRED, FOR LEAVE TO FILE A BRIEF AS AMICUS CURIAE ON BEHALF OF PLAINTIFFS Crtrm.: Judge: 6 The Hon. Vaughn R. Walker

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14 CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, 15 16 v. Plaintiff-Intervenor,

17 ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, et al., 18 19 and Defendants,

20 PROPOSITION 8 OFFICIAL PROPONENTS DENNIS HOLLINGSWORTH, et al., 21 Defendant-Intervenors. 22 23 24 The Honorable DONALD B. KING, a retired justice of the California Court of Appeal,

25 hereby moves for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae in support of the Plaintiffs in the above26 captioned matter. 27 This Court has broad discretion to a permit third party to participate in an action as amicus

28 curiae. See, e.g., Gerritson v. de la Madrid Hurtado, 819 F.2d 1511, 1514 n.3 (9th Cir. 1987). 1 Case No. 09-CV-2292 VRW MOTION BY JUSTICE DONALD B. KING, RETIRED, FOR LEAVE TO FILE A BRIEF AS AMICUS CURIAE ON BEHALF OF PLAINTIFFS Dockets.Justia.com

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1 "District courts frequently welcome amicus briefs from non-parties concerning legal issues that 2 have potential ramifications beyond the parties directly involved, or if the amicus has unique 3 information or perspective that can help the court beyond the help that the lawyers for the parties 4 are able to provide." Sonoma Falls Devs., LLC v. Nev. Gold & Casinos, Inc., 272 F. Supp. 2d 5 919,925 (N.D. Cal. 2003.) 6 Justice King has worked indefatigably for more than three decades to improve the practice

7 of family law in California. Appointed to the Superior Court in 1976, he initiated the practice of 8 mediation to aid families in resolving child custody disputes and he helped to promulgate uniform 9 rules regarding family law matters for the San Francisco Bay Area county courts. Justice King
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10 served on the California Court of Appeal for 13 years, where he authored more published opinions
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11 in family law cases than any appellate justice in California's history. Since retirement in 1996, 12 Justice King has been associated with the American Arbitration Association, providing services 13 for private dispute resolution in family law cases. 14 Justice King co-authored the pre-eminent family law treatise in California, the California

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15 Practice Guide - Family Law (The Rutter Group) and he has taught family law at several Bay Area 16 law schools. Justice King has received numerous awards, including the California State Bar 17 Judicial Officer of the Year, which was renamed by the State Bar in his honor, and the National 18 Public Service Award of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. 19 Justice King seeks to appear as amicus on behalf of plaintiffs in this action as part of his

20 lifelong work in support of the institution of marriage, which he believes should not be denied to 21 one class of people on the basis of sexual orientation. His amicus brief will address various 22 aspects of the traditional role of the courts that are affected by Proposition 8, and it will focus 23 upon how same-sex marriage is necessary to provide equality for families under California family 24 law. 25 / / / 26 / / / 27 / / / 28 / / / 2 Case No. 09-CV-2292 VRW MOTION BY JUSTICE DONALD B. KING, RETIRED, FOR LEAVE TO FILE A BRIEF AS AMICUS CURIAE ON BEHALF OF PLAINTIFFS

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Justice King respectfully requests leave to file an amicus brief in support of Plaintiffs.

2 That brief has been filed concurrent with this motion. 3 4 DATED: February 3, 2010 5 6 7 8 9
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SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP

By: /s/ Diana E. Richmond DIANA E. RICHMOND LOUIS P. FEUCHTBAUM Attorneys for Amicus Curiae Justice Donald B. King, California Court of Appeal, Retired

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11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 Case No. 09-CV-2292 VRW MOTION BY JUSTICE DONALD B. KING, RETIRED, FOR LEAVE TO FILE A BRIEF AS AMICUS CURIAE ON BEHALF OF PLAINTIFFS

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