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07/10/2009


Law Dork on Olson-Boies "Turf War"

Arm Wrestling Chris Geidner at Law Dork has an exclusive read on that explosive letter from American Foundation for Equal Rights that was obtained by Towleroad yesterday, along with some reactions from the letter's recipients.

Geidner notes that Chad Griffin's letter makes clear that "far from being blindsided by the Perry lawsuit—the LGBT legal organizations were well aware of and chose not to participate in the filing of this lawsuit."

Regarding Griffin's point that the groups seeking to intervene had earlier opposed AFER's efforts and so would not be effective in litigating, James Esseks, co-director of the ACLU LGBT Rights Project, says, "People can disagree about when and whether to jump into the pool, but once you do it makes sense to swim as hard as possible to get to the other side...We're all in the pool; it's not just those plaintiffs."

Highlights of Law Dork's take:

"This is, in part, a turf fight, and there is no denying it. But it is a legitimate turf fight. These three groups and their boards have been involved in dozens of lawsuits relating to marriage equality. They have, for the most part, been well-planned and carefully strategized cases that have resulted in great forward movement in a relatively short time...

"The lawyers for the proposed intervenors might be coming late to the party, but the reality is that the groups they are representing have the right to seek intervention in the case and to have counsel of their choosing in such an intervention effort...

"In light of the very diversity of the LGBT community that the proposed intervenors claim to represent, this intra-LGBT fight might have been inevitable. Regardless, though, here's to hoping that everyone sits down in the coming days and weeks and figures out the best way to move forward with this case to help advance equality for all the Californians and LGBT people across the country who are watching this lawsuit with bated breath."

Posted 9:07 AM EST by Matthew Rettenmund in David Boies, Gay Marriage, Gay Marriage Quotes, News, Proposition 8, Ted Olson | Permalink

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  1. we don't have the reliable votes on the scotus to force this issue now. unless boies and olson know something we don't, this move is ill-advised. rulings establish precedent. i think it is counter-productive at this point. i agree with law dork.

    Posted by: nic | Jul 11, 2009 2:50:07 PM


  2. "Fuck that, HRC, I'm all out of patience."

    As far as I know, the HRC is not particularly involved in this. The gay LEGAL groups who are seeking to intervene have had a significant role in the marriage battles we've won thus far. People keep conflating all the gay groups and critiquing them based on their misgivings about one. It can be argued that NCLR, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU should be staying out of this case, but we need them and they've done good work on our behalf. I think everyone on our side wants full equality asap, but there are fundamental disagreements about the best and most efficient way to achieve that, and questioning the timing of this case is in no way akin to quitting, as some are suggesting.

    Posted by: Ernie | Jul 11, 2009 4:48:36 PM


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