Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al

Filing 782

MOTION for Leave to File Brief of Amici Curiae Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., ACLU Foundation of Northern California, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Equality California in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion to Vacate Judgment filed by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.. (Renn, Peter) (Filed on 5/13/2011)

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1 2 3 4 5 JON W. DAVIDSON (SBN 89301) jdavidson@lambdalegal.org TARA BORELLI (SBN 216961) tborelli@lambdalegal.org PETER C. RENN (SBN 247633) prenn@lambdalegal.org LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, INC. 3325 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1300 Los Angeles, CA 90010 T: (213) 382-7600/F: (213) 351-6050 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ALAN L. SCHLOSSER (SBN 49957) aschlosser@aclunc.org ELIZABETH O. GILL (SBN 218311) egill@aclunc.org ACLU FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA 39 Drumm Street San Francisco, CA 94111 T: (415) 621-2493/F: (415) 255-8437 SHANNON P. MINTER (SBN 168907) sminter@nclrights.org CHRISTOPHER F. STOLL (SBN 179046) cstoll@nclrights.org ILONA M. TURNER (SBN 256219) iturner@nclrights.org NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS 870 Market Street, Suite 370 San Francisco, CA 94102 T: (415) 392-6257/F: (415) 392-8442 16 17 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 18 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 19 20 21 KRISTIN M. PERRY, et al., Plaintiffs, and CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, Plaintiff-Intervenor, 22 23 24 25 26 v. EDMUND G. BROWN, et al., Defendants, and PROPOSITION 8 OFFICIAL PROPONENTS DENNIS HOLLINGSWORTH, et al., CASE NO. 09-CV-2292 JW NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, INC., ACLU FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS, AND EQUALITY CALIFORNIA; [PROPOSED] ORDER Judge: Courtroom: Chief Judge Ware Courtroom 5, 17th Floor 27 Defendant-Intervenors. 28 CASE NO. 09-CV-2292 JW MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE 1 TO ALL PARTIES AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD: 2 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., ACLU 3 Foundation of Northern California, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Equality California 4 hereby move the Court for leave to file an amici curiae brief, explaining why granting Proponents’ 5 motion to vacate the judgment (Doc. No. 768) would constitute an unprecedented departure from the 6 normal disqualification rules that govern cases raising constitutional issues and would uniquely harm 7 lesbian, gay, and bisexual people as well as the judiciary. Amici have conferred with counsel for 8 Plaintiffs, Plaintiff-Intervenor City and County of San Francisco, Proponents, and Defendants 9 Governor Brown, Attorney General Harris, and Los Angeles County Clerk Logan, who do not oppose 10 11 12 this motion. I. STANDARD FOR MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE “District courts frequently welcome amicus briefs from non-parties concerning legal issues 13 that have potential ramifications beyond the parties directly involved or if the amicus has unique 14 information or perspective that can help the court beyond the help that the lawyers for the parties are 15 able to provide.” Sonoma Falls Devs., LLC v. Nev. Gold & Casinos, Inc., 272 F. Supp. 2d 919, 925 16 (N.D. Cal. 2003). This standard is met here because of the significant implications of the 17 disqualification rule advanced by Proponents. The parties submitting this brief have been allowed to 18 submit amici briefs in this case on multiple previous occasions. See Doc. Nos. 62, 65, 661. 19 20 II. IDENTITY AND INTERESTS OF AMICI CURIAE Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. (Lambda Legal) is the nation’s oldest and 21 largest nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to achieving full civil rights for lesbian, gay, 22 bisexual and transgender people and those living with HIV through impact litigation, education, and 23 public policy work. With offices in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and New York, Lambda 24 Legal litigates cases and engages in public advocacy in all areas of sexual orientation and gender 25 identity discrimination law and policy. 26 The ACLU Foundation of Northern California (ACLU-NC) is the largest affiliate of the 27 American Civil Liberties Union, a nationwide, nonpartisan organization with more than 550,000 28 members dedicated to the defense and promotion of the guarantees of individual liberty secured by CASE NO. 09-CV-2292 JW MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE 1 1 state and federal Constitutions and civil rights statutes. ACLU-NC works on behalf of lesbians, gay 2 men, bisexuals, and transgender people to win even-handed treatment by government; protection 3 from discrimination in jobs, schools, housing, and public accommodations; and equal rights for same- 4 sex couples and LGBT families. 5 The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national non-profit legal organization 6 dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 7 people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. Since its 8 founding in 1977, NCLR has played a leading role in securing fair and equal treatment for LGBT 9 people and their families in cases across the country involving constitutional and civil rights. NCLR 10 11 has a particular interest in protecting same-sex couples and their children. Equality California is a state-wide advocacy group protecting the needs and interests of 12 same-sex couples and their children in California. It is also California’s largest lesbian, gay, 13 bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, with tens of thousands of members throughout the 14 state. Many Equality California members are in committed same-sex relationships and wish to 15 marry. Equality California has a substantial interest in participating in these proceedings, because the 16 issues raised here will directly affect Equality California’s members and supporters. 17 Amici have significant experience and interest in the issues presented in this case. Lambda 18 Legal, the ACLU of Northern California, and NCLR represented plaintiffs, including Equality 19 California, in the litigation that culminated in the California Supreme Court’s decision in In re 20 Marriage Cases, 183 P.3d 384 (Cal. 2008). These organizations also collectively filed the lead 21 challenge to Proposition 8 in the California Supreme Court, which resulted in that Court’s decision in 22 Strauss v. Horton, 207 P.3d 48 (Cal. 2009). 23 24 25 26 27 28 CASE NO. 09-CV-2292 JW MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE 2 1 III. CONCLUSION 2 For the foregoing reasons, Lambda Legal, ACLU Foundation of Northern California, NCLR, 3 and Equality California respectfully request this Court’s leave to file the amici curiae brief submitted 4 herewith. 5 Dated: May 13, 2011 6 7 8 9 10 Respectfully submitted, JON W. DAVIDSON TARA BORELLI PETER C. RENN Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. ALAN L. SCHLOSSER ELIZABETH O. GILL ACLU Foundation of Northern California 12 SHANNON P. MINTER CHRISTOPHER F. STOLL ILONA M. TURNER National Center For Lesbian Rights 13 By: 14 Attorneys for Amici Curiae Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., ACLU Foundation of Northern California, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Equality California 11 15 16 __/s/ Peter Renn_________ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 CASE NO. 09-CV-2292 JW MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE 3 [PROPOSED] ORDER 1 2 Good cause appearing, the motion of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, ACLU 3 Foundation of Northern California, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Equality California 4 for leave to file a brief of amici curiae is hereby GRANTED. IT IS SO ORDERED. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Dated: __________, 2011 _______________________________ Hon. James Ware United States Chief District Judge

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