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Contact: Brad Dacus, President , Pacific Justice Institute, 916-857-6900
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 14 /Standard Newswire/ -- Pacific Justice Institute filed legal briefs yesterday with the California Supreme Court defending Proposition 8 in three separate cases. The briefs can now be accessed on the court's website.
As soon as it was reported that Prop. 8 had been approved by the voters, three lawsuits were filed seeking an immediate stay to prevent Prop. 8 from being enforced. One of the lawsuits was filed by the ACLU and Lambda. A second suit was filed by celebrity attorney Gloria Allred. A third suit was filed by the City Attorneys for San Francisco and L.A. and the County Counsel for Santa Clara County. All three cases use the same basic arguments that Prop. 8 "takes rights away" and should be considered a revision, rather than an amendment, to the state constitution. Revisions must be approved by both the legislature and voters.
The official defender of Prop. 8 is California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who sought to defeat Prop. 8 before it was adopted and as of this writing had not filed any response to the lawsuits. In letter briefs filed as amicus, Pacific Justice Institute is opposing the attempts to stay implementation of Prop. 8. PJI attorneys also believe the basic arguments in all three cases are fundamentally flawed. "It is being argued that voters can never undo judicial decisions - even when the courts insert themselves into public policy debates," noted PJI Chief Counsel Kevin Snider. "If accepted, that argument will eviscerate California's initiative process."
PJI Staff Attorney Matt McReynolds added, "The lawsuit filed by San Francisco, L.A. and Santa Clara County are egregious abuses of power. More than 700,000 citizens in those locales voted in favor of Prop. 8, yet their tax dollars are being used to finance an attack against Prop. 8. This is political grandstanding at its worst."
Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, stated, "The battle to preserve marriage has taken on a whole new dimension as we fight to preserve our basic constitutional form of government. If the courts deny the people of California their inherent right to determine such a basic matter of public policy as preserving marriage, the rule of law will be upended. The stakes are incredibly high."
About The Pacific Justice Institute: Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties. Pacific Justice Institute works diligently, without charge, to provide their clients with all the legal support they need. Pacific Justice Institute's strategy is to coordinate and oversee large numbers of concurrent court actions through a network of over 1,000 affiliate attorneys nationwide. And, according to former US Attorney General Edwin Meese, "The Institute fills a critical need for those whose civil liberties are threatened." "Through our dedicated attorneys and supporters, we defend the rights of countless individuals, families and churches... without charge."
