FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | February 2, 2012

NCLR Responds to Ninth Circuit Decision Blocking Release of the Historic Prop 8 Trial Video and Overturning District Court Order

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell

(San Francisco, CA, February 2, 2012)—Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the public release of the video of the historic trial to overturn Proposition 8, the 2008 measure that stripped same-sex couples of the right to marry in California. The court overturned a federal district court decision ordering the release of the video.

Since suffering a devastating loss at the 2010 trial, Prop 8 supporters have tried to block the public from seeing the historic trial video. Last years, Chief Judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco ruled that the video must be available to the public. The Prop 8 proponents appealed that ruling to the Ninth Circuit, which reversed it today. The Ninth Circuit’s decision was based on its determination that Judge Vaughn Walker, who presided over the trial, had made a commitment to the parties that the recording would not be publicly released.

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell:

“The court's decision to keep the people from seeing this public record of one of the most important trials in American history is extremely disappointing. As those lucky enough to have watched the trial saw, the defenders of Prop 8 were unable to offer a shred of evidence to support it, while the plaintiffs presented a mountain of compelling reasons to strike down this unjust and damaging law. The public deserves the same chance to see the facts for themselves.”

The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.
www.nclrights.org.