Intoxicated By His Own Bias

The judge who overturned Proposition 8 way, way off the legal mark.

Walker struck it down in an anomalous decision, arguing that the proposition's affirmation of traditional heterosexual marriage was unconstitutional and manifested a religiously sanctioned, irrational bigotry toward gay couples who wish to marry.

After reading Walker's decision, Ed Whelan, a constitutional law authority and president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, concluded that Walker was "intoxicated by his own bias." Yet, this latest decision marks the third time Walker has been rebuked by appellate courts since he was appointed to the federal bench by President Reagan. Earlier this year, after Walker required disclosure of Prop 8 supporters' internal communications, the Ninth Circuit cut him off by issuing a highly unusual writ of mandamus directing him to stop what would clearly be an excessive and unnecessarily intrusive discovery process. That the higher court used such a writ -- defined by Black's Law Dictionary as indicating a failure to "perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly" -- is suggestive of the appeals panel's opinion of Walker's jurisprudence. The second instance came shortly thereafter when the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Walker's plan to televise the proceedings in his courtroom prior to issuing his ruling. Had he been allowed to proceed, the case would have become little more than a circus.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/California_s-bumbler-in-a-black-robe-512779-100929474.html#ixzz0wxx4AknY