Denniston on Standing to Appeal in the Prop. 8 Case

On SCOTUSblog, Lyle Denniston has a must-read post, Analysis: Prop. 8 case, less than anticipated? "Standing" issue may be decisive. Here is a taste:

In both the Ninth Circuit and, if the case goes further, in the Supreme Court, it is now apparent that the resolution of the issue of standing to appeal will turn on how those courts interpret the Supreme Court’s 1997 decision in Arizona for Official English v. Arizona, casting doubt on whether initiative sponsors may appeal to defend a ballot measure when state officials refuse to do so, and the Court’s 1985 ruling in Karcher v. May, suggesting that state legislators may sometimes do so when other state offocials refuse, provided state law allows for that.   The proponents of the ban on gay marriage, in direct conflict with Judge Walke’s interpretation of California law, argue that state law does give them the right to be in court.   California law, they said, makes their case different from the Arizona English initiative case.