State officials in Utah are expected to
ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a federal ruling declaring
the state's gay marriage ban invalid.
The state could file its request as
early as Monday.
According to an analysis by
SCOTUSblog's
Lyle Denniston, asking the high court to review the decision
before an appellate court has ruled is a possible, though ambitious,
option for Utah.
“If Utah's own legal staff, along
with outside counsel they say they have recruited to help out,
conclude that the state's opposition to such marriages is probably a
lost cause in lower courts, they could attempt to persuade the
Supreme Court that now is the time to deal with the core issue, once
and for all, without waiting for the ongoing campaign to promote
marriage equality to unfold further in the lower state and federal
courts,” Denniston wrote.
Referring to rulings in New Jersey, New
Mexico, Utah and Ohio, Denniston added: “[I]f the experience of the
last few weeks is any guide to what may unfold in lower courts in
coming weeks and months, there are good reasons to believe that more
of the existing state bans are likely to be nullified, perhaps rather
quickly.”
Utah officials, however, are more
likely to ask Justice Sonia Sotomayor for an emergency stay in the
ruling as an appeal moves forward.
(Related: Utah
Republicans back plan to spend $2 million defending gay marriage
ban.)