(Thanks to Rick Xiao, California attorney and site collaborator, for providing the filing.)
On December 15th, attorneys affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund filed Imperial County's motion to intervene in Perry v. Schwarzenneger. The County's Board of Supervisors hope to join the Prop. 8 proponents, just as San Francisco County has been allowed to join plaintiffs. Imperial County, of course, claims rather different interests in the case. Its primary interest rests on what plaintiffs consider a "conjecture." If the Prop. 8 proponents lose, and "hostile" government defendants don't appeal a final judgment invalidating Prop. 8, could proponents appeal the judgment to the 9th Circuit? According to Imperial County's motion, San Francisco County has argued that proponents would lack "Art. III standing." (See also the "citizens suits" annotation beginning at page 688 of this publication.) Under this scenario, Imperial County, if allowed to intervene, would have Art. III standing for the purpose of an appeal. Plaintiffs make quick work of this argument:
[A]ny jurisdictional deficiency among the Proponents has no bearing on whether Imperial County itself has a significant protectable interest in this litigation. Moreover, any prediction as to whether Defendants would appeal from a decision invalidating Prop. 8 is entirely speculative, and the Ninth Circuit has explicitly rejected speculation as the basis for granting intervention.
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