Brody's Notes... Federal Appeals Court Rules Prop 8 Video Tapes To Remain Under Seal

By Brody Levesque | SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- The U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Monday granted a stay to U. S. District Court Chief Judge James Ware's ruling September 19th that the video recordings of the Prop 8 trial would be released this Friday unless a higher court intervened.

The sponsors of Proposition 8- who were defendants in the case- had argued that making the recordings public would endanger witnesses and damage the "credibility and integrity of the federal judiciary."

Judge Ware had written in his ruling that the U. S. Supreme Court had prohibited only a telecast during the Prop 8 trial. He went on to express that the high court made no provisions that the recordings, which are part of the trial record, be permanently sealed. Ware acknowledged that the attorney's for the plaintiffs, the city of San Francisco and various media organisations were justified in requesting that the videos be made public.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the lead counsel for the defendants had argued against release saying:

Ware's ruling "threatens deep and lasting harm to the integrity and credibility of the federal judiciary," Charles Cooper, lawyer for Prop. 8's sponsors, said in asking the appeals court for an emergency stay.

Unsealing the recordings would expose pro-Prop. 8 witnesses to "a serious and well-substantiated risk of harassment or worse" and would cause them to refuse to testify at any future proceedings, Cooper said.

He did not present any supporting statements from the witnesses. Prop. 8's opponents, on the other hand, are circulating a comment from the sponsors' chief witness, traditional marriage advocate David Blankenhorn, who said in an online exchange last week that he "never felt physically threatened" by the presence of cameras at the trial.