The California Supreme Court is being asked by Proposition 8 backers (sic) to do something extreme — to overturn the will of voters who earlier this month banned gay marriage.
It’s a choice fraught with potential political ramifications for the justices — including threats of recall.
“It is a time of lots of crocodiles in the bathtub,” said Santa Clara University law professor Gerald Uelmen, who has followed the court for decades. “Their oath requires them to ignore these kinds of political threats. But the threat of having to face a contested election is a significant one.”
Uelmen used a metaphor coined by California Supreme Court Justice Otto Kaus, a Democrat who served on the court after voters recalled Chief Justice Rose Bird and two other justices who had voted against death sentences.
Kaus later said that, as hard as he tried to decide cases impartially, he was never sure whether the threat of a recall election – “the crocodile in the bathtub” – was influencing his votes.
“It was like finding a crocodile in your bathtub when you go to shave in the morning,” Kaus said. “You know it’s there, and you try not to think about it, but it’s hard to think about much else while you’re shaving.”
It’s good that some opponents of Prop 8 are now seeking a remedy for their opposition to the passage of the Proposition 8 ballot measure through the courts instead of through intimidation and fear mongering.
Now, the California justices must decide if their allegiance lies with their oath or their office.
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July 24, 2009 at 5:44 pm
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