Oh my: Ninth Circuit stays Walker’s order, postpones gay marriage in California until December; Update: Prop 8 opponents won’t appeal

Via Legal Insurrection, here’s the order in its entirety.

Appellants’ motion for a stay of the district court’s order of August 4, 2010 pending appeal is GRANTED. The court sua sponte orders that this appeal be expedited pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 2. The provisions of Ninth Circuit Rule 31-2.2(a) (pertaining to grants of time extensions) shall not apply to this appeal. This appeal shall be calendared during the week of December 6, 2010, at The James R. Browning Courthouse in San Francisco, California.

The previously established briefing schedule is vacated. The opening brief is now due September 17, 2010. The answering brief is due October 18, 2010. The reply brief is due November 1, 2010. In addition to any issues appellants wish to raise on appeal, appellants are directed to include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing. See Arizonans For Official English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 66 (1997).

Emphasis mine. I’m amazed they were willing to wave away Walker’s order that marriages should begin immediately with something as brief as this. As of an hour ago, the first weddings were set to start at 5 p.m. on Wednesday; now they won’t happen until December at the earliest, with no explanation given of how Walker erred. Presumably they figured there’s enough of a chance that Prop 8 supporters will win on appeal that they didn’t want to let marriages happen now, only to have to void them later. That’s the good news for gay-marriage opponents; the bad news is that two of the three judges here are Clinton appointees and they’re clearly quite interested in Walker’s argument that Prop 8 supporters lack standing to appeal his decision. Merely postponing the inevitable here?

If you missed it over the weekend, enjoy the NYT’s editorial demanding court-ordered gay marriage not only in California but in all 50 states. Clearly, they have their finger on the pulse of American populism. Exit question: From a strictly political standpoint, is this good news or bad news for conservatives ahead of the midterms?

Update: No appeal coming from Prop 8 opponents, says the Advocate.

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