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State Attorney General Kamala Harris told a federal appeals court Tuesday that the Obama administration's repudiation of a federal law denying marital benefits to gay and lesbian couples dims the legal prospects for Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriage. Harris asked the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to let same-sex weddings resume in California while the court reviews Prop. 8. The case is on hold while the state Supreme Court decides whether the measure's sponsors can appeal a federal judge's decision declaring Prop. 8 unconstitutional. Even if backers have legal standing, Harris said, "the likelihood...

San Francisco, CA (AP) -- California's attorney general has asked a federal appeals court to allow gay marriages to resume while the court considers the constitutionality of the state's ban on same-sex unions. Attorney General Kamala Harris submitted a petition to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.

Attorney General Kamala Harris enlisted California in the legal battle over health care Friday, joining eight other states in a court filing defending the new law's requirement that everyone obtain medical insurance. The nine states, all with Democratic attorneys general, filed arguments with a federal appeals court in Cincinnati supporting the constitutionality of the law that's supposed to provide coverage for uninsured Americans. The law includes government subsidies for those who can't afford to buy health coverage and can't get it from their employer. While the Republican-controlled House voted this week to repeal the law, a potentially more serious challenge...

New Attorney General Kamala Harris took office Monday with a rapid-fire barrage of promises to target everything from violent gangs to online scams to truancy and prison recidivism rates. Minutes after her swearing-in, Harris sent a message that she plans to be an activist as California's top cop, an innovator with a motto identical to the title of her book: "Smart On Crime." "Ultimately, being smart on crime is about doing more preventing and less reacting, it's about being tough and being tough-minded, doing more of what works and less of what doesn't," she said. Harris, who narrowly defeated Los...

It’s easy to understand why Kamala Harris, California’s next attorney general, is being called the future of the Democratic Party, a rising political star in the mold of one of her big supporters — President Barack Obama. At first glance, the president and Harris have much in common: Both are mixed-race children of immigrants raised by a single mother; both are eloquent, telegenic big-city lawyers with strong liberal credentials who catapulted from relative obscurity to the national stage. And like the first African-American president, Harris has broken a long-standing barrier — she’s California’s first African-American attorney general and the first...

No sooner did Attorney General-elect Kamala Harris declare victory than the stargazers of the political universe begin speculating where she will end up in California's Democratic constellation. Right in the center, was the short answer."She is going to have an incredibly long reach," said former state party Chairman Art Torres. "Her office will be in the forefront of everything from civil rights to the environment to consumer issues."She will certainly have no problem making national impact," Torres said.Judging by her victory speech Tuesday, Harris is already thinking big.Her bipartisan transition team features no fewer than two former U.S. secretaries of...

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris claimed victory in the hard fought race for state attorney general today, the deadline for counties to finish counting votes. "We did it," said the Democrat, who will be the state's first female, first African-American and first Indian-American attorney general when she is sworn in next month. Speaking in front of a room full of supporters in Los Angeles, Harris listed tackling mortgage fraud, the state's 70 percent recidivism rate, environmental issues and civil rights as some of her priorities.

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris will be California's next attorney general, after her Republican opponent conceded today - a full three weeks after the Nov. 2 election. Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley had declared victory on election night, only to see the race flip-flop between the two candidates in the coming days as counties around the state continued to tally mail-in and provisional ballots. This morning, Cooley called Harris - who is now leading by 50,000 votes - to concede and congratulate her.She will become the state's first female attorney general. In a written statement,...

With the stack of ballots left to count sharply diminished, San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris continued to hold a steady lead Tuesday in the race for attorney general, making victory over Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley all but assured. Harris, the Democrat, led the Republican nominee by nearly 53,000 votes — 4,385,438 to 4,332,596 — according to a Times review of updated vote tallies in all 58 counties. Although the gap remains narrow in one of the closest statewide races in California history, the chance for Cooley to pick up enough votes to make up the difference...

It's looking more likely that Democrat Kamala Harris will be the state's next attorney general, as the San Francisco prosecutor continues to hold on to her lead in the still-undecided race. In the days after the Nov. 2 election, the results had see-sawed between Harris, a Democrat, and her Republican opponent, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley. For the last week, however, Harris has maintained a comfortable lead - as of Friday afternoon she was up by about 43,000 votes, according to the secretary of state. There are still an estimated 500,000 ballots left to be counted in a race...

DWAYNE BROWN (Host): Most results are in, but the race for California attorney general may not be decided for weeks. We're joined on Morning Edition by nonpartisan Sacramento political consultant Leo McElroy. Republican Steve Cooley, Leo, leads democrat Kamala Harris by about 41,000 votes in the attorney general's race. What's at stake? LEO MCELROY (Political Consultant): Well, there are a couple of things at stake. For one thing, Cooley pretty much becomes the state-wide leader of the republican party if he manages to win because the republicans got shut out in every other race. So Cooley suddenly becomes a giant...

The outcome of the still-undecided race for state attorney general could also affect the fate of Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriage. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, who now trails Republican Steve Cooley in their lead-changing race as thousands of late ballots are being counted, opposed Prop. 8 and backed outgoing AG Jerry Brown's decision not to defend it in court. Cooley, the Los Angeles County district attorney, said during the campaign that, if elected, he was prepared to give the ballot measure the defense it never got from the state. But Cooley probably wouldn't have a chance...

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A late overnight surge in votes that carried San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris into the lead in the race for state attorney general has her campaign declaring victory today. With 100 percent of precincts reporting as of 12:39 p.m., Harris, a Democrat, led Republican Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles district attorney, 45.9 percent to 45.7 percent, according to the California Secretary of State's Office. Harris had trailed Cooley until the early morning hours. "In spite of Steve Cooley's Dewey-esque declaration of victory" late Tuesday night, a statement from Harris' campaign said, "San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris will be...

San Francisco -- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris squeezed past her GOP opponent overnight to take a narrow lead in the race for state attorney general. With 99.2 percent of precincts reporting, Harris is barely ahead of Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley by just one-third of a percentage point, according to the secretary of state. She is leading by 22,299 votes, though things could still change: Complete results from Riverside County, a GOP stronghold have not yet come in, and all of the absentee and provisional ballots have yet to be tallied. Cooley claimed victory after taking a...

The races for lieutenant governor and attorney general are too close to suggest that any candidate has a firm edge going into Tuesday's election, according to the latest Field Poll released Friday. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is hanging onto a slim five-point edge of 42 percent to 37 percent over Republican Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado. The survey also found that Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley – the GOP candidate for attorney general – has dipped to a one-point lead over Democratic rival Kamala Harris, San Francisco's district attorney. The latest survey, which was conducted Oct....

California's political watchdog agency has dismissed a complaint by Democrat Kamala Harris, candidate for attorney general, that a national Republican group is conducting an illegal $1.6 million advertising campaign against her. Harris' complained Monday that the 30-second attack ad by the Republican State Leadership Committee was required to contain a disclaimer listing their top two donors and failed to do so. The Fair Political Practices Commission tossed the complaint out Tuesday, ruling that the ad is exempt from the requirement because it is "issue advocacy" that does not specifically encourage a vote for or against a candidate. The FPPC already...

I don't understand why San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris wants to be California's next attorney general. Then again, it's hard to understand why she even ran for D.A. - other than because she has a yen for elective office. She hasn't been an aggressive prosecutor. She hasn't been a competent administrator. She seems more interested in advancing liberal causes than putting bad guys behind bars. It is a sad testament to the Democratic Party that Harris is its chosen nominee to run against Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, a consummate lawman whose tenure could serve as a...

On the day before Easter 2004, David Lee Hill fatally shot San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza and wounded his partner with an AK-47 assault rifle as they approached him for acting suspiciously in the city's Bayview area. District Attorney Kamala Harris' decision not to seek the death penalty has become a lightning rod in this year's race for state attorney general pitting her against Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, a leader in sending killers to death row. "Voters are going to want an attorney general who does not impose his or her own personal ideology or political...

San Francisco bashing is about to intensify. Three Democratic politicians with strong ties to San Francisco - Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris - are engaged in tough statewide election battles and political experts say the GOP will probably seize on the city's reputation as a bastion of left-wing politics to attack them.Gubernatorial candidate Brown was born in San Francisco, served as Oakland's mayor and lives in the East Bay city while serving as the state attorney general; Newsom, vying for lieutenant governor, was born in San Francisco and is the city's mayor; and Attorney General candidate Harris was...