IDAHO: Governor Asks Ninth Circuit Court For En Banc Marriage Overturn Review

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (seriously) has filed a motion to have his state's marriage equality case heard by the full Ninth Circuit Court rather than the usual three-judge panel.

“Because the marriage issue is so passionately contested and so divisive among the citizenry, the perception of the legitimacy of this court’s resolution of it must be of paramount concern,” attorneys for the governor argue in their motion. “A decision by an 11-judge panel stands far higher and stronger than does a decision by a three-judge panel, just as a decision by a three-judge panel stands far higher and stronger than does a decision by a single judge.” U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale last month overturned Idaho’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, saying it violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process; four Idaho couples had sued, saying their constitutional rights were violated by the state not allowing them to marry or not recognizing their legal marriages from other states.

In addition to the marriage case, Otter wants the Ninth Circuit to clarify its application of "heightened scrutiny" in an earlier ruling involving two pharmaceutical giants. (Tipped by JMG reader Matthew)

NOTE: Because the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has so many judges, an en banc review does not involve the entire 29-seat bench. Instead the case is heard by the head judge and ten others selected at random.