As Ari Ezra Waldman reported earlier, today's hearing on marriage equality before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals hinges in some part at least on the three judges chosen to hear the arguments. Those judges have now been revealed as Judges Richard Posner, Anne Claire Williams and David Hamilton. As ThinkProgress reports, this news seems to portend well for marriage equality advocates:
Judge Posner is the sole Republican on the panel — he’s served on the Court since President Reagan appointed him in 1981 — but he is a highly idiosyncratic judge who has grown increasingly critical of his fellow partisans in recent years….On the specific issue of gay rights, Posner’s views are a bit nuanced, but he is openly sympathetic to the case for equality. In a 2013 essay entitled “How Gay Marriage Became Legitimate,” Posner questioned the view that the courts have played much of a role in advancing LGBT equality. Using antiquated language, Posner’s bottom line was that “the growing acceptance of homosexual marriage seems a natural consequence of the sexual revolution that began in the 1960s rather than an effect, even to a small degree, of litigation.” Yet he was also dismissive of arguments against gay equality. “[I]t is hard to make a case for discriminating against [gay people],” Posner wrote, “apart from a religious case based largely on Roman Catholic doctrine.”
Judge Williams is a Clinton-appointee and a noted liberal scholar. Hamilton, meanwhile, was appointed by President Obama and was filibustered by Republican Senators “in large part due to a handful of opinions he handed down as a federal district judge on social issues such as abortion and religion.” Early speculation suggests both would be unlikely to break with the dramatic trend of federal justices supporting marriage equality.
Stay tuned for more news on the hearing today before the 7th Circuit.
