Perry v. Schwarzenneger: Commentary on Charles Cooper's motion for stay of Judge Walker's discovery order pending appeal

10/08/09 motion for stay of Judge Walker's 10/01/09 discovery order pending appeal

California attorney Rick Xiao offers the following comment on this filing in the Perry case:

In an effort to resist Judge Walker’s discovery order for production of internal communications concerning their campaign strategy, Prop. 8 proponents have appealed the order to the Ninth Circuit. Simultaneously, they also filed a motion to stay discovery pending the appeal. The motion to stay is set for a hearing on January 7, 2010 — just days before trial. Given the clear indication that Judge Walker is proceeding expeditiously to trial, these latest filings suggest that Prop. 8 proponents are pursuing a new strategy focusing more on procedural tactics which could limit discovery available to plaintiffs and pose obstacles to the fast-track trial scheduling.

10/08/09 Leonard Link, by law professor Arthur Leonard:

A dispute about a discovery demand in the pending federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of California Proposition 8 may delay the trial in the case, which has been scheduled to begin in January. The attorneys for the Proposition 8 Official Proponents are asking U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker to stay discovery while they ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9^th Circuit to reverse Walker’s October 1 ruling that they have no First Amendment right to refuse to turn over internal communications from the Proposition 8 referendum campaign.