Utah Delays Marriage Appeal To SCOTUS

Many had expected Utah to rush their emergency stay request to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor first thing this morning. But not so.

The attorney general’s office is working to prepare the appeal to the Supreme Court on the 10th Circuit’s denial of a stay. Due to the necessity of coordination with outside counsel the filing of the appeal may be delayed for a few days,” he told FOX 13′s Ben Winslow. “It is the intent of the AG’s office to file with the Supreme Court as soon as possible.” The delay means that same-sex marriages would continue to be performed in Utah until the nation’s top court decides. Justice Sotomayor, who oversees the 10th Circuit and Utah federal courts, could either grant or deny the stay, or she could ask the entire U.S. Supreme Court to decide the issue. An appeal of U.S. District Court Judge Robert Shelby’s ruling that declared Amendment 3 unconstitutional is still pending in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. If the Supreme Court denies Utah’s request to halt same-sex marriage licenses from being issued, those marriages would continue to happen throughout the appeals process — which could be decided by 2015.

All but one of Utah's 29 counties are issuing same-sex marriage licenses today. In that one tiny county, the clerk is on vacation.