Prop 8 Primary Merits Briefs

[g8rjd]

I know that when there is a ruling, people will have plenty of opinions about it in this case, so I thought that people may like to read what actually is the primary basis of persuasion for the Court.

The parties have filed the primary briefs on Prop 8 in the Supreme Court. The Petitioners will be able to file a Reply Brief responding to the arguments of the Respondent Answer Brief that was filed today.

Petitioner's Initial Brief: http://www.americanbar.org/content/d...thcheckdam.pdf

Respondent's Answer Brief:
http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-con...rits-Brief.pdf

There are a considerable number of briefs filed in this case, including one by the Westboro Baptist Church that is downright crazy.

All the filing are available here: http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files...worth-v-perry/

But, like I said, there's a heck of a lot of amicus briefs, so get comfy if you're going to try to read them all.

[wgbgator]

Do the judges generally read amicus briefs, or is it mostly for public consumption?

[gatorman_07732]

I would imagine they do since they have special rules for amicus briefs

[g8rjd]

Originally Posted by wgbgator

Do the judges generally read amicus briefs, or is it mostly for public consumption?

They read them (at least their clerks do). Sometimes they are discussed at argument, although rarely, and sometimes they are discussed in opinions (often in footnotes, but ocassionaly in the body too). Admittedly, some are "me too" briefs, and those are not really useful other than to say "this is important to us." However, some of them are actually very helpful. There was one filed in a DNA case recently that I read that was incredibly helpful in explaining how the DNA analysis process works, what it can reveal, and what it can't.

So, while it is wheat from chaff, they are read.

That being said, I think the Westboro Baptist Church one is purely for the public, as it is the legal equivalent of protesting a solider's funeral. Nutjobs.

[g8rjd]

And here is San Fransico's Brief: http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-con...scos-Brief.pdf