The Supreme Court on Monday will
release its first set of cases justices have declined to hear, which
could end Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban.
Should the court decline to hear an
appeal in the case, the marriages of gay and lesbian couples taking
place before the constitutional amendment was narrowly approved by
voters in November 2008 could resume within days as the Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals' upholding of a lower court's decision against Prop
8 would be made permanent.
However, the case, Perry v.
Hollingsworth, could also be added to the court's docket later in
the 2012-2013 term.
Legal experts believe there is a
greater probability that the justices will agree to hear one of the
four cases challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 law which bars federal agencies from
recognizing the legal marriages of gay couples, than Perry.
If the court agrees to hear Perry,
oral arguments would be presented in the spring, and a final decision
would likely be issued by June 2013, according to the American
Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group formed specifically to
challenge the ban.