WASHINGTON — By a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court kept in place Wednesday its order blocking video coverage of the trial of California’s Proposition 8, with a conservative majority ruling that the defenders of the ban on same-sex marriage will likely face “irreparable harm” if the proceedings were broadcast to the public.
“It would be difficult — if not impossible — to reverse the harm of those broadcasts,” the court wrote in an unsigned opinion. The witnesses, including paid experts, could suffer “harassment,” and they “might be less likely to cooperate in any future proceedings.”
The high court also faulted U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker for changing the rules “at the eleventh hour” to “allow the broadcasting of this high-profile trial” which will decide whether gays and lesbians have a right to marry in California.
The court’s order means that the trial can be seen only inside the courthouse in San Francisco.
In the courtroom Wednesday, evidence in the case included a letter from a proponent of the same-sex marriage ban warning voters that gay-rights activists would try to legalize sex with children if same-sex couples had the right.
Lawyers for two same-sex couples introduced the letter to buttress their contention that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional because it was fueled by deep-seated animosity against gays.
