Judge James Ware, the California District court judge who took over the federal case challenging Prop 8 after Judge Vaughn Walker retired, officially ordered the case closed on Monday. This sparked some initial confusion about whether same sex couples could start marrying again since Walker ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional. No, says Shannon Minter, Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. From Shannon Minter:
”This appears to simply be an administrative order for the clerk to close the file and formally enter judgment in the plaintiffs’ favor. It does not mean that couples can start getting married. Jurisdiction over the case remains exclusively in the 9th Circuit, which has said that its decision striking down Prop 8 will not go into effect until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the Proponents’ request that the Supreme Court hear the case.”
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