Brody's Notes... Attorney's For DADT Plaintiffs Log Cabin Republicans Ask Supreme Court To Vacate Stay

Photo By Brody Levesque

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) NOV 5 | Attorney's for the Log Cabin Republicans, plaintiffs in the case to overturn "Don't Ask-Don't Tell," today filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court to vacate the stay of the injunction issued by the U. S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last week which would have suspended enforcement of the policy while it was in litigation.

Lead Attorney for the Log Cabin Republicans, Dan Woods told reporters:

"We have today filed an application with the United States Supreme Court asking it to vacate the Ninth Circuit's order staying Judge Phillips's injunction pending appeal. We argue in this application that the Ninth Circuit order was arbitrary and an abuse of discretion and should be vacated immediately. We continue to look forward to the day when all Americans can serve in our military without regard to their sexual orientation."

In an interview today with The Advocate's Senior White House correspondent Kerry Eleveld, former Clinton Administration presidential adviser Richard Socarides said:

"It's rare for any litigant to pursue an interim stay issue all the way to the Supreme Court. It involves the court in the case at a very early stage of the appeals process and is often considered risky," he explained. "That said, I imagine the plaintiffs feel they don't have much to lose, even though the likelihood of success on this interim request is low. But if they do prevail, they would gain a lot of strategic leverage."

Reporters at today's briefing in Los Angeles asked Woods:

Will the entire Supreme Court be involved in considering whether to vacate the Ninth Circuit order?

Woods: That is up to Justice Kennedy. He may decide himself or he may refer the application to the full court.

Question:: How long will the review take?

Woods: That is also up to the court. The Court may allow the government the opportunity to respond to our application.

Question: What are the next steps if the Court vacates the ruling/doesn't vacate the ruling?

Woods: If the Court vacates the stay order, DADT is dead pending the appeal, and we have for all intents and purposes won. If it doesn't, we will next move in the Ninth Circuit to expedite the Judge Phillips's decision.

A full transcript of the filing is available in a pdf from The Advocate here: [ Link ]