Release of Prop 8 Tapes Back on Hold
The release of the Proposition 8 trial tapes is back on hold, following an order from an appeals court on Monday, Sept. 26.
On Sept. 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted a stay, or hold, of U.S. District Court Judge James Ware’s Sept. 19 order that granted the unsealing of the Proposition 8 trial tapes on Sept. 30.
The stay issued by the appeals court is a temporary one put in place “pending consideration of appellant’s emergency motion for stay pending appeal.” In other words, the Ninth Circuit panel considering the matter — Judges Stephen Reinhardt, Michael Daly Hawkins and N. Randy Smith — put Ware’s order on hold while it decides whether it will keep Ware’s order on hold while it considers the underlying appeal of Ware’s decision that the tapes should not remain sealed.
The Proposition 8 proponents filed the emergency motion to stay the district court’s decision with the Ninth Circuit on Sept. 23. Responses are due by Oct. 3, and a reply from the proponents would be due seven days after that filing.
Because of the Ninth Circuit decision, Ware today dismissed as moot two motions before the trial court seeking a stay because, as Ware wrote, “it appears that the Ninth Circuit has already stayed the Court’s September 19 Order.”
READ:
- Ninth Circuit order – NinthCir-TapesTempStay.pdf
- District Court order – DistCt-TapesMoot.pdf
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