Ninth Circuit Likely To Rule Tomorrow On Rehearing Prop 8 With More Judges

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an alert that a ruling will come tomorrow on whether to rehear Prop 8 with a larger panel of judges. Insiders speculate:

KQED's Scott Shafer said this is almost surely the decision on whether to rehear the case en banc. An en banc panel is made up of 11 judges, chosen at random from the circuit. If the 9th Circuit denies the request, Prop 8 supporters will almost certainly ask the United States Supreme Court to hear the case. Proponents of Prop 8, California's same-sex marriage ban, asked the 9th Circuit for the en banc review in February, after a ruling by a three-judge panel upheld Judge Vaughn Walker's 2010 decision striking down the law as unconstitutional.

Prop 8 Trial Tracker has more on what could happen.

If that happens, Judge Reinhardt’s narrow opinion stands, and the proponents of Proposition 8 can then petition for certiorari at the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court were to deny review, the Ninth Circuit’s decision would stand, and Proposition 8 would be struck down. Gay and lesbian couples would be allowed to marry in California. If the Supreme Court grants review, there will be briefing and oral argument and a decision next year.