Update Thursday, Nov 17: The court has ruled unanimously to grant Prop 8 proponents standing. Click here for the story.
From the court:
San Francisco – The California Supreme Court today announced that it will file a written opinion at 10 a.m. on Thursday, November 17, 2011, in Perry v. Brown, S189476, a case that involves whether the official proponents of an initiative measure have standing to defend the constitutionality of the measure when the public officials charged with that duty decline to do so.
At the time of filing, the opinion will be available on the California Courts website at this link
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Perry v. Brown on September 6, 2011, in San Francisco.
As The California Report's Scott Shafer reported after attending the hearing, even justices who one might think would be sympathetic to the case against Proposition 8 appeared highly skeptical of the legal argument that Prop 8 proponents do not have "standing" (the legal right to be a party in a lawsuit) to defend the measure when the attorney general and governor decline to do so, as is the case here.
"They seemed to say that the voters have authority in the voter initiative process," Shafer said. "And if the governor and the attorney general can simply pick and choose which laws to defend in court then that power voters have is essentially illusory. And they seemed very reluctant to say that voters don't have any power when the state refuses to go to bat for them.
"What became very clear is that this case is likely to go forward at the 9th Circuit and that proponents of Prop 8 will get to defend the law in court. It's not going to end here."