The AP's Lisa Leff writes about the previous gay rights cases presided over by federal Prop 8 trial judge Vaughn Walker:
During his time as a federal judge, Walker has ruled in at least two
cases involving gay rights issues. In one, he dismissed a lawsuit by
two Oakland city employees who alleged their free speech rights were
violated when managers removed a bulletin board flier for a religious
group that promoted "natural family, marriage and family values."The city had "significant interests in restricting discriminatory
speech about homosexuals. . . .(and has) a duty under state law to
prevent workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,"
Walker wrote in his 2005 ruling.In the other case, Walker in
1999 rejected arguments from the parents of a San Leandro boy who
claimed their religious rights were violated by pro-gay comments their
son's teacher had made in the classroom.
Walker was also involved in a case involving Gay Games founder Tom Waddell and was criticized by gay rights leaders for helping the U.S. Olympic committee sue Waddell because he had originally called the athletic competition the Gay Olympics.
There's much more about Walker's background in Leff's profile.
