Prop. 8 Judge is Gay?

The San Francisco Chronicle published an interesting article on Sunday that read:

The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay.

He has “never taken pains to disguise – or advertise – his orientation,”  tells those who have worked alongside the jurist.

When asked about his concern of being characterized as gay, Walker replied, “No comment.”

Kate Kendell, Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights,  a group that is supporting the lawsuit to overturn Prop. 8, says a gay judge who will rule on gay marriage case is really a non-issue.

“There is nothing about Walker as a judge to indicate that his sexual orientation, other than being an interesting factor, will in any way bias his view,” said Kendell.

But it is hard to see how Walker’s sexual orientation is not relevant to the trial.

The article quotes a fellow federal judge and friend of Walker’s, in fact concedes that his homosexuality is relevant to the case. He notes that Walker’s background matters in the same way people would want to know that a judge hearing a discrimination case involving Latinos was Latino or a Jewish judge was ruling in a case involving the Anti-Defamation League.

Walker raised eyebrows when he ordered campaign strategists for supporters of Prop.8 to release their internal memorandums and emails to plaintiffs seeking to overturn the measure. The move flabbergasted legal professions. The Ninth U.S. Circuit of Appeals tossed out his order, noting that the “freedom to associate with others for the common advancement of political beliefs and ideas lies at the heart of the First Amendment,” and it “would likely have a chilling effect on political association and the formulation of political expression.”

Regardless of Walker’s upcoming ruling, it is certain that the case will be determined in the higher courts anyway.

Walker was appointed to the bench in 1989 by President George H.W. Bush.

Related posts:

1. Prop 8 Hearings on YouTube: Judge Plans Cameras in Court
2. Federal Judge Rules Cali. Gay Marriage Ban (Prop 8) ‘Unconstitutional’
3. Judge See Quick Action On Prop. 8 Gay Marriage Ban
4. California’s Gay Marriage Ban Extended
5. Panel For Ninth Circuit Moves Quickly On Prop 8

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