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Judge’s sexual orientation is issue in Prop 8 case

The Columbian
Published: April 25, 2011, 12:00am

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The sexual orientation of a judge in California’s gay marriage case has taken center stage as supporters of a voter approved ban try to overturn a ruling striking it down.

The sponsors of the ban say they want to disqualify the federal judge who struck down Proposition 8, not because he is gay but because he’s been in a relationship with the same man for a decade and might want to get hitched himself.

But experts in judicial ethics say that line of reasoning is unlikely to prevail.

They say while courts have not had to wrestle with sexual orientation as grounds for judicial recusal, judges typically have rejected efforts to remove judges based on personal characteristics such as race, gender, religion or even the contents of their investment portfolios.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issued his ruling declaring Proposition 8 to be an unconstitutional violation of gay Californians civil rights last August.

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