California Attorney General Jerry Brown first in decades to go against voters

12/23/08 San Francisco Chronicle: Chronicle reporter Bob Egelko says that Brown's "argument against the initiative isn't based on any clearly established legal doctrine or precedent, the standard suggested by Deukmejian and other former attorneys general."

Former California Attorney General and Governor George Deukmejian believes that absent case law to support his argument on Prop. 8, Brown should defend the law.

According to Egelko, former California Attorney General John Van de Kamp "said Brown would probably be on more solid ground if he were arguing that Prop. 8 violated the U.S. Constitution, rather than invoking the California Constitution."

Former California Attorney General Dan Lungren finds " it's very troubling when you [referring to Brown] announce that you're going to defend (Prop. 8) and then, some weeks later, say you're not going to defend it."