Utah Delays Marriage Appeal To SCOTUS

Many had expected Utah to rush their emergency stay request to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor first thing this morning. But not so.

The attorney general’s office is working to prepare the appeal to the Supreme Court on the 10th Circuit’s denial of a stay. Due to the necessity of coordination with outside counsel the filing of the appeal may be delayed for a few days,” he told FOX 13′s Ben Winslow. “It is the intent of the AG’s office to file with the Supreme Court as soon as possible.” The delay means that same-sex marriages would continue to be performed in Utah until the nation’s top court decides. Justice Sotomayor, who oversees the 10th Circuit and Utah federal courts, could either grant or deny the stay, or she could ask the entire U.S. Supreme Court to decide the issue. An appeal of U.S. District Court Judge Robert Shelby’s ruling that declared Amendment 3 unconstitutional is still pending in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. If the Supreme Court denies Utah’s request to halt same-sex marriage licenses from being issued, those marriages would continue to happen throughout the appeals process — which could be decided by 2015.

All but one of Utah's 29 counties are issuing same-sex marriage licenses today. In that one tiny county, the clerk is on vacation.

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Posted in: Gary Herbert,LGBT rights,marriage equality,SCOTUS,Sonia Sotomayor,Tenth Circuit Court,Utah

BREAKING: Tenth Circuit Court DENIES Marriage Stay In Xmas Eve Order

Via Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed:

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the state of Utah’s request to stop same-sex couples’ marriages during the appeal of the judge’s ruling that started those marriages on Friday.“Having considered the district court’s decision and the parties’ arguments concerning the stay factors, we conclude that a stay is not warranted,” Judges Jerome Holmes and Robert Bacharach wrote in an order signed by court clerk Elisabeth Shumaker for the court.

The denial means that a Friday decision by Judge Robert Shelby striking down the state’s ban on same-sex couples marrying will remain in place during the appeal of the case, absent a contrary ruling from the Supreme Court — to which Utah officials could appeal. Interim requests of the type that would be filed in this situation would go to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who oversees such requests from the 10th Circuit. She could either decide the matter on her own or refer the matter to the whole court for consideration.

Merry Christmas, UTAH!

UPDATE: The state is going right to Sotomayor.

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Posted in: Gary Herbert,GOP,lawsuits,LGBT rights,marriage equality,Tenth Circuit Court,Utah

BREAKING: Judge Shelby DENIES Stay Demand, Marriages To Continue

And now the state will run to the Tenth Circuit Court for the third time, but this time their appeal will be considered. Meanwhile, hell has frozen over and pigs are FLYING in Utah.

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Posted in: Gary Herbert,marriage equality,Utah

Quote Of The Day - Seth Anderson

"Today, December 23, Republican Governor Gary Herbert has declared the State of Utah will go before a judge to 'defend traditional marriage within the borders of Utah.' I don’t know how he can say that as a Utahan and as a Mormon. Traditional marriage in Utah is non-traditional. How delightfully ironic that today, December 23, Mormons will remember the birthday of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, a man who had 34 wives, 1/3 of whom married Joseph while simultaneously married to other men and 1/3 of whom were under the age of 20. The founder of Salt Lake City and colonizer of Utah, Brigham Young, had 55 wives and 34 children. 21 of his wives had never been married, 16 were widows, 6 were divorced, and 6 had living husbands." - Seth Anderson (right), who married on Friday in Utah's first-ever legal same-sex wedding.

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Posted in: Gary Herbert,marriage equality,Mormons,Utah

BREAKING: Tenth Circuit Court Denies Stay Request From Utah Governor

Via Fox News Salt Lake City:

According to court documents, “The Defendants-Appellants ask this court to stay the district court’s order pending the district court’s ruling on a motion for stay pending appeal that is currently pending in that court.” According to the documents, the filing for an Emergency Motion for Temporary Stay did not address nor satisfy the factors that must be established to be entitled to a stay pending an appeal. The denial is without prejudice if the defendants-appellants file a motion for stay pending appeal that complies with regulations.

Read the full ruling here.

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Posted in: Gary Herbert,marriage equality,Tenth Circuit Court,Utah

Tomorrow At 9AM: Utah Stay Hearing

The hearing on Utah Gov. Gary Herbert's demand for a stay on same-sex marriages will begin at 9AM tomorrow.

Case Name:      Kitchen et al v. Herbert et al
Case Number:    2:13-cv-00217-RJS
NOTICE OF HEARING ON MOTION: re: [94] Defendant's MOTION to Stay re [90] Order on Motion for Summary Judgment. The court orders the Plaintiffs to file any response to the Defendants' Motion by 5:00pm on December 22, 2013. The Defendants may file a reply at any time before the hearing on Monday morning. Motion Hearing set for 12/23/2013 at 9:00 AM in Room 220 before Judge Robert J. Shelby.

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Posted in: Gary Herbert,marriage equality,Utah