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Constitutional Law,
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Aug. 19, 2010

Wrong on the Law

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to stay same-sex marriages is practical but not justifiable under the law, by Erwin Chemerinsky of the University of California, Irvine, School of Law.

Erwin Chemerinsky

Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law UC Berkeley School of Law

Erwin's most recent book is "Worse Than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism." He is also the author of "Closing the Courthouse," (Yale University Press 2017).


By Erwin Chemerinsky


The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision on Monday to stay same-sex marriages until the court has a chance to decide the issue makes sense from a practical perspective, but it is wrong as to the law. It is understandable that the three-judge motions panel would decide to freeze the status quo until the court has briefing and oral argument on the constitutional issue. Besides, if the motions panel denied the stay, the supporters of ...

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