Well, the problem is that if the State of California is able to ignore the decisions of U.S. District Courts, then why should the State even show up to defend a claim that a state law is unconstitutional? Since the case will never get to a federal appellate court, the State of California could go on doing anything it wants so long as it never appeals to an appellate court.
In other news:
Governor Jerry Brown is already ordering clerks to issue marriage licenses to gays in California, a bold step
The clerks have standing.
I know I don’t think California can ignore the District Court’s order.
However I do think California can hold their own officials in violation of the California constitution if they honor the District Court’s order and don’t get an appellate decision.
Maybe the proponents of Prop 8 can sue the California officials in California courts and force them to appeal it.
I think this means it is the legal duty of the state to appeal every decision that the 9th Circuit makes. And given that the 9th circuit is the most overturned, activist court in the country, that makes sense. Seems to me that if the state refuses to appeal they are supposed to be impeached for dereliction of duty. And that is what needs to happen.
But it doesn’t make sense that SCOTUS could vacate the 9th Circuit decision, if the proper CA authorities filed the suit and had standing.