Today's Mighty Oak

Wherein I hurry up and wait



Today, the ACLU announced that they submitted a motion for the trial for marriage equality in Pennsylvania to move it to summary judgement.  Basically what that means is both sides have agreed that the case can be decided by the judge on the briefs submitted.  No witnesses, although the judge may decide to ask for opening statements.

This moves up the entire timeline.  The deadline to appeals to the motion are due by May 12, so anytime after that date, we could have a decision from the judge.  Originally arguments were set to take place in June, so this really is moving things up significantly.

As of right now, marriage equality is batting 1,000 since the Supreme Court decisions last summer, but every single time a stay has been issued.

So, my thinking is now that we’ll have a decision by the end of May, a stay, and hopefully a failed appeal by the end of the summer.

The other side of the coin, Corbett, who is in a precarious position for his reelection could choose not to appeal.  I think he will appeal, but he may want to try to gain some votes, even at the expense of losing some of his base.  If that is the case (which again, I don’t think will happen), most likely some right-wing group will try to swoop in and claim standing to keep the appeal going.  If that happens, my guess is it will take a while for the courts to decide if they have standing or not, further delaying the process.

Anyway, if you want to read more, the ACLU of Pennsylvania has an FAQ here.

All my best,

Mike

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